Trick of the Light
by CrowAggro
Summary: He wasn't mad. This was happening. And he wasn't entirely sure how to feel about that. FrostIron.
1. Oh Gods

My first foray into the field of fan fiction in what, 3 years? It's been a while, but how could I not with Tom Hiddleston as my new muse? Damn him.  
:Enjoy:

Tony Stark grinned wolfishly. Loki said nothing as his serpentine tongue slid over his lower lip, frowning at the taste of copper.  
"Did you bite my lip Stark?" He asked, frowning. The other man merely shrugged and stretched out besides his lanky escort. Further inspecting his body, Loki pointedly ignored his bed mate as a show of annoyance at his split lip. Tony placed his hands behind his head and allowed his eyes to travel the length of his companions exposed form. It wasn't often the chance arose to bend a God across your desk and finish up in the bedroom. And the bathroom. Then the bedroom again. The trickster was still scrutinising himself when the man of iron grabbed him deftly by the arm and rolled the God on top of him, a strangled complaint dying in the Asgardians throat before he draped his arms casually alongside the shorter mans head, slender hands caressing the strong line of his jaw. Lowering his chin until it dug into the crevice between arc reactor and clavicle, Loki sighed loudly.  
"I should have killed you while I had the chance, shouldn't I?" He wondered aloud. Stark laughed in response and tangled his fingers within the mass of black strands atop the Gods head. Nuzzling the clean-shaven chest below him, Loki wriggled forwards, the iron man barely suppressing a groan as bare flesh ground together. Green eyes glinting roguishly in the far away lights of a city not yet destroyed, the trickster planted a kiss squarely on his lovers lips. He felt the other grin into the kiss and found himself smirking too. Stark was infectious. He was the sort of man that would get right under your skin and make you wish he'd stay there. He hadn't even been put off when Loki had told him about having given birth to an eight legged wonder horse.

Any man that stuck around after that was either desperate or insane.  
And Tony Stark was definitely not desperate. At least not in so far as that he couldn't get anyone if he tried, on the contrary, he was Tony Stark, billionaire extraordinaire, he could get damn near anyone.  
And he had chosen Loki. A God.  
Whether that had been for the mans own insatiable ego, or whether there was some sort of genuine connection between the two was entirely beyond the only occasionally malevolent being.

"I wonder what Thor would make of our situation. Maybe we should tell him." He mused, glancing upwards at the derisive snort his genius friend made. "You think I'm kidding, Stark." He said, prodding a finger squarely into Tony's forehead. The man beneath him tilted his head and caught the stray finger between perfect, white teeth.  
"I wou pu nuffin pah yoo." Came the muffled reply. Loki tossed his head back and laughed, pushing his tongue forwards until it rested against the back of his top front teeth before pulling his finger free and diving down for another kiss.

They remained that way for a long time, neither needing to speak, simply enjoying each others company in a comfortable silence. Loki turned his head, resting it in the crook of Starks neck, the rebellious strands of pitch-black hair tickling the foreign skin beneath them. Tony brushed them away gently before stroking the back of Loki's head with an idle hand. This time the God let out a gentle sigh, hardly just an expulsion of air, from him it might as well have screamed a thousand words.  
He was happy. For the first time in such a long, long time, he was truly at peace.  
This was the sort of man he wanted to be. Sprawled across a powerful, ruthlessly sarcastic, megalomaniacal, intelligent, ruggedly handsome, billionaire super hero he had never felt more content. It was not perfect, but this was as close as he was going to get. And he desperately wanted everyone to know.

S.H.I.E.L.D. would interfere however, they would question his intentions, twist his words and expect him to have some sort of master plan to enslave the human race, again, hidden up his sleeve. And Thor… He wondered what his dearest brother would have to say about all this. No doubts the Neanderthal would attempt to split Tony in half before embracing him in one of his bone splintering hugs and declaring the man of iron a true brother. Odin would probably have a fit and Frigga would coo over his beloved metal man like a good mother should.

Loki stopped and sat up sharply, luminous green eyes staring intently at Stark, brows furrowed and head cocked slightly to one side. Tony blinked, confused, and arched a perfectly formed eyebrow questioning Loki's sudden reaction to absolutely nothing.  
The God opened his mouth to speak but his silver tongue turned to lead it his mouth. Words failed him.  
"Spill it reindeer games. 'Sup?"  
Propping himself up, the tanned body below him shifted under the pointed elbows in a vain attempt to decrease the amount of discomfort it was currently experiencing. Loki ignored it. This was important. He just wished he could actually get the words out.

"Stark."  
"Yes sweetheart." Tony said mockingly, earning himself a swift punch to the shoulder. "I think we might have a problem." The trickster finished lamely. This was not his forte; emotions were something he tended to let everyone else get on with. Unless those feelings were rage and vengeance, in which case he often found himself in uncommon territory. Tony frowned slightly, concern flitting across his face before that trademark smirk quickly replaced it.

"As long as you're not pregnant I think we're okay." He laughed. Then stopped abruptly. "You're not pregnant are you? I don't think I can deal with-"  
"Shut up Stark." Loki snapped. "I am not with child. Though a brother or sister for Sleipnir would be nice." He added, his lips curling into a cruel smile before his earlier problem returned to the front of his mind.  
"Stark… Tony. I think I…" He chewed his lower lip thoughtfully for a moment. Tony smiled against his better judgement. There was something strangely endearing about a God famed for his way with words to be caught so completely tongue tied. "Go on Loki, you can tell me." He urged gently.  
Green eyes narrowed at this sudden show of encouragement as if wary of a trap before his pointed features softened and he tried again to convey those most elusive of feelings.  
"I think that I might have referred to you as my 'beloved' in my head." He blurted out.

His face grew redder by the second, the blush creeping down as far as his neck as Tony Stark roared with laughter beneath him.  
"Shut up!" The liar hissed through gritted teeth, the redness refusing to die down.  
"Oh Gods Loki, for a second… For a second I-" The former play boy managed before resigning himself to another fit of laughter. Sitting up quickly, Loki forced himself up off the bed and stalked over to the window. Between gasping for breath and wiping tears from his eyes Tony watched the sinewy, naked figure standing with his back to him from the enormous bedroom window that stretched from wall to wall, floor to ceiling, bathed in the light of the pre-sunrise.  
Jumping up from the warmth of the bed, Tony wandered over to the grimacing God and wrapped his arms around the slender waist and rested his forehead against the nape of his lovers neck.  
"I'm sorry, Loki. It was just… an interesting choice of words. But I'm not understanding the problem?" The lanky figure pressed to his chest grunted and wriggled slightly, apparently still unimpressed by Starks earlier complete disregard for tact.

"I thought of you as something more than a bed mate. Am I wrong Stark, or is there something more between us than just amazing sex and witty banter?" He waited anxiously for a reply, trying to keep his voice as level and disjointed as possible, his eyes fixed on the pretty enough view of the city he almost destroyed. He cursed inwardly as the closeness and warmth of the others body pulled away from him silently. The bottom seemed to drop from his stomach, leaving him with a dull ache in his chest. His eyes stung, but he'd be damned if he'd let that narcissistic, arrogant, bastard-

"I think you might be right reindeer games." The man of iron said finally, raising his arm so he could grasp the taller mans chin between a thumb and forefinger. He traced the pale jawline with his thumb watching, with a small smile, as Loki shut his eyes tightly blinking away 'something that had gotten into them.'

Lips crashed together in the wake of a new day.  
And as they backed up towards the bed Loki found himself grinning into the kiss, and was relieved to find Stark was doing the same.


	2. It's Madness

Trick of The Light

Rated T

Wasn't sure whether or not to leave this as a oneshot, but I just keep writing! :enjoy:

...

"Fuck you Tony Stark!" The God of Chaos roared atop the Avengers HQ. Tony stood between an angered God and his entire team. This was not going to end well.  
"Loki, listen to me, this isn't what you think. Please just-"  
"Fuck you and fuck all your pretty little words. I see how it is! You were just waiting until my guard was down before calling your friends to try and lock me away again. I knew it, I KNEW! You-You..!" He screamed, his voice beginning to taper out as the diatribe lost momentum, he didn't know what else to say. The tears pricking the backs of his eyes however forced him to stop and collect himself. He had been screaming blue murder at the man decked in red and gold for the past twenty minutes, regardless of the fact his entire team stood directly behind them, mouths agape in shock and confusion. Thor had remained silent, stopped from interrupting by a warning glare from Natasha. Steve just didn't have a clue, his idea of relationship and theirs were two completely different things, his being rooted firmly in the past where two men would not be stood on a rooftop screaming about their feelings for each other. All in all, he couldn't quite get his head around it. Banner and Clint stared dumbfounded at the on going spectacle and glanced at each other occasionally, just to make sure they were both still definitely on the same page and not going mad.

"Loki please, just listen! I had no idea what Fury was up to, I didn't know he knew you were here! He told me there'd been a reporting of you in the area, and he thought you must have somehow infiltrated the building. I had no idea until they radioed in telling me they had you cornered. I swear it Loki! I would never do that to you!" Tony pleaded, his arms spread wide, fear etched across every line on his face. He'd left the visor down, but in Loki's current state he didn't trust himself to escape from this unscathed if he removed his suit too soon.  
The tricksters face paled as he clutched his ruined staff to his chest, breath ragged from his screaming session. His hands trembled with uncertainty.  
He was a master of lies. He could spot a terrible liar a mile away, and Stark was such a one. He didn't bother with lies when he could hide behind walls of sarcasm and stupid insults. And right now, Loki couldn't see any trace of falsehood beneath the other mans words. Dropping the staff to his feet he shook his head. In a flash of red and gold, cold, metal arms had him by the shoulders and two lips pressed firmly against his own. Wrapping his leather bound arms around the shorter mans neck he broke away from the kiss, resting his head against Starks brow so he could stare him in the eyes.  
"You swear to me Stark, you swear to me that this wasn't you. You swear down on your life, on the lives of your friends and the ones that you love and you promise me that you had no part in this and I will believe you. But if you lie to me, and I will discover if it is a lie or not, then I will bring this world to ruin and I will having you screaming for death before the end." The God hissed, lips pulled back into an almost feral snarl.

Tony would have been terrified, had it not been for the tears that threatened to spill from those glorious jade eyes.  
"Well that certainly is something to think about sweetheart." He replied casually, allowing an easy smile to mask his troubled features. Loki punched him in the arm and cupped the shorter mans face with pale, trembling hands.  
"You swear Tony?" He asked again, his voice both soft and steel edged, one big juxtaposition. The man in the metal suit laughed and nodded.  
"I swear it, Loki. Now I think we might have some explaining to do to that fine assortment of people over there. And you also might have to restrain your brother, because I sure as hell want to walk away from this in one piece. Well?" He asked light-heartedly to cover the rising panic in his voice. This is not how he wanted the others to find out. This is definitely not how he wanted the others to find out. He was dead. He was more than dead; technically he was a terrorist. He had been caught sleeping with the enemy. He was worse than dead. He was officially-  
"Stark. What the hell?" Banner interrupted as Thor shoved his way through the group brandishing Mjolnir at the metal clad mortal.  
"Thor I can explain." Tony began; hands raised palms upwards as the God of Thunder advanced menacingly. He was saved at the last second as Loki stepped between them, hands on hips. "Stop." He barked at his elder brother. The blonde behemoth pointed the hammer at the other God and told him to move. The Avengers physically cringed at look that twisted the Tricksters face. Eyes narrowed, Loki gritted his teeth and stepped forwards, green magic crackling and flaring around his hands.  
"Do. Not. Point. That. At. Me." He snarled. "Am I understood, brother?"

Thor dropped the weapon to his sides, his face a mess of emotions.

"Loki, did you just call me brother?" He asked, incredulous, as if he couldn't quite believe his own ears. Mouth pursed tightly, Loki shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, pointedly ignoring the Thunder Gods gaze.  
"Stark and I have been seeing each other for a while now. Nearly a year in fact. I have learnt much. And maybe one of those things was that I have possibly thrown away something that was once very dear to me. If there is any way to repair some of that damage, I think I would be willing to try."  
Thor remained speechless.  
"I should probably apologise to the rest of you whilst you are gathered. Tony said that doing something like that might potentially ease some of your not entirely misguided rage towards me. I told him that it was a stupid idea. I mean, I mind controlled you, bitched at you, handed the patriots arse to him on a star spangled platter and don't think I have forgotten what you did to me, green man." Loki rambled. He couldn't help but glare at the sometimes green man until a nudge from his partner broke his gaze.

"Well that wasn't the _worst_ apology I've ever heard, and I'm sure Pepper can fill you in on some of the crackers I've made to her in the past. Overall I think it was a good foundation from which we can-"  
"Tony. You've been sleeping with the God of Lies, Chaos and Mischief for the better part of a year, and you never once thought to tell us." Banner finally stammered.  
"Don't forget fire too!" Loki quipped, oblivious to the slightest hint of hurt lurking within the scientist's words, something that was not lost on Tony. The billionaire sighed, running a hand through his hair as the gleaming suit encasing him folded in on itself, revealing the weary looking body at its core.  
"Don't give me those puppy dog eyes Bruce. You know I can trust you with damn near anything, just not this. You'd have kept this a secret, I know that. But once you've told someone a secret like this, word always gets out, and I don't trust _anyone_ with secrets pertaining to my personal life, no offense, but they fetch a pretty penny. That and if someone knows where Loki is that makes us both a target and I've been trying my hardest to limit his mischief to harmless pranks and the occasionally news topping freak accident." He explained patiently, surprised at just how much of this speech he had retained after all those rehearsal sessions he had spent in front of his mirror trying not to be too distracted by his own face.  
"I've been doing rather well too." Loki stated proudly, not content with the measly smouldering of praise Stark had granted him. He folded his arms across his chest admiring his nails and sent a sidelong glare to his lover who had failed to acknowledge the hint.

"Fine." He added, venomously, much to Tony's surprise. "Well, there are two ways we can go about this now. As far as I can see, you can either turn me over to S.H.I.E.L.D. but don't you worry, I will break out I assure you, and I will make your lives hell, or… And I do believe you listen very carefully to this one, you leave Tony and I alone and just let us get on with it. We discussed what we would do in the eventuality of us, what was the term you used? Coming out? And we believe we have a solution. During the next large scale attack on the city I will assist the Avengers in taking down whatever it is and afterwards I will take part in a press conference explaining my current situation and how I am now dedicated to helping repair some of the damage my ill fated subjugation attempt wrought. I could say that I was now working for S.H.I.E.L.D. and both them and the Avengers were keeping an eye on me but that I wasn't officially an Avenger. More like a third party. And Stark and I will tell everyone, eventually, about us." Loki drawled lazily, as if bored now that the initial fireworks had died down. Tony wondered momentarily what had possessed him to hook up with such a drama queen in the first place.

And then Loki flashed that brilliant grin, tilting his head up slightly, staring down his nose imperiously at the assembled heroes.

"Do any of you have a problem with that?" He sneered.  
"So you have no more designs on enslaving the human race? And Tony Stark is the one that cured you of this?" Natasha asked, genuinely confused.  
"I just can't figure out what it takes to get those bitches to kneel." Loki said, false sincerity lacing his voice as he sauntered past the amassed ensemble, cackling loudly as he went.

And that, Tony mentally appraised, was exactly why he had fallen for that emerald eyed, leather swathed, horn helmeted son of a bitch. Hook, line and sinker.

...

Thanks for reading bro's!  
Comments and feedback always appreciated.


	3. 99 Problems All of them Stark related

Trick of the Light

Rated T

Had far too much fun writing this one, the next chapter will be a direct continuation from this one, but now I want a drink. Ah well.

…

He should have known better.  
He really, really should have known better.

Tony hesitated slightly, fingers flitting over the screen of his phone as he contemplated, yet again, rejecting his team-mates offers to come round and 'kick back for some chill time.' His excuses were always the same, working too hard, deadlines, late running meetings, the usual… But he had no doubts that they knew it was because Loki was there, stealing him away from them, but that was an unfair accusation. Loki had never done any such thing. In fact, he had once pretended to be positively itching for a late night, solitary walk around the city, just so the Avengers team could come round without any chance of them having to interact with him.  
Tony had insisted he join him instead however, declaring nonchalantly that there would be plenty of other opportunities for them to visit. Loki refused, and without another word dissipated into the night. Tony had no choice but to accept his teams offer. And he supposed he should probably start referring to them as his 'friends'.

But now it was different.  
They knew about him and Loki, they knew it all. Even if Clint had had to, not so subtly, detail ALL the aspects of them 'being together' to Steve. Although credit were it was due the Super Soldier had taken it all in remarkably good stride, merely muttering something about 'changing times' to himself afterwards. Still, it didn't make it any easier. They didn't know Loki, not like he did. Hell, he wasn't even being arrogant when he had told Bruce he had a better idea of how his twisted little God toy worked than even Thor did half the time. Ninety per cent of the time actually.  
Make that ninety-nine.

Still. He couldn't put this off forever, so after a moment more of hesitation he let his fingers tap out a quick reply and stifled a groan as a jaw-droppingly off key rendition of'99 Problems' poured through the adjoining room.  
Apparently Loki was taking a bath.  
Tony figured he should wait until the Godly one had finished bathing before…

Shit.  
They were here.  
All of them. Oh Gods, they were early. At least the songbird had stopped trilling from his bath by the time they reached the top floor. What was that Natasha, you were only round the corner? Oh yeah, it's no problem sweet cheeks, sure just walk on in, it's not like I had to explain anything to anyone first… OH HELL NO.  
"So Stark when are we-"

Fuck.

"…. Loki?" Thor choked.  
Clint looked like he was about to have a fit, Natasha began to tear up and Steve, Bruce and Thor stood, mouths agape at the spectacle before them.  
It would have been kinder to his ego if he had just walked out naked. Well, it was too late now, and if it was one thing Tony was good at, it was making a bad situation worse.  
"You look radiant my darling, but maybe you should put on something a little more… formal?" He smarmed. He couldn't stop the laughs that were beginning to bubble in his chest. And then it all went to hell.

Natasha screamed, tears rolling down her face as Clint used her to prop himself up, doubled over in stitches. Bruce snorted loudly, scrabbling for his glasses as a laughter induced slap on the back from Steve sent them flying. Thor's expression was priceless. Literally, if Tony could only capture that look and market it, he'd make… Substantially more than he already did. And that was a lot. Like, a fuck ton more.

And all the while, an absolutely mortified looking God stood in the doorway of the bedroom, cheeks flushed an unhealthy shade of red, torn between screaming and killing someone. He had not been expecting visitors. He had not expected anyone other than his confident to be here.

And so he had decided to don himself in something decidedly more comfortable than fashion forwards…  
He looked a pretty sight wearing snowflake patterned slacks that rested snugly against his angular hip bones, and a decidedly too short t-shirt with a happy little reindeer face printed across it. It had been one of Starks ironic gifts that he hadn't expected Loki to like as much as he did.  
And now here he was, stood looking like an overgrown child in front of a room full of the people who were supposed to fear him.  
His hair scraped back into a messy bun didn't exactly help matters either.

"Babe, I think you look stunning." Was apparently the wrong thing to say, as with a scathing look and a snap of his fingers the man of iron suddenly found himself feeling a lot… free-er in the nether department. Hands moved quicker than lightening to preserve his modesty from the now howling group.  
"Words. Now." Loki spat, disappearing into the bedroom. The room stilled for a moment as Tony shuffled doggedly after his partner and promptly descended back into hysterics as the door slammed shut behind him.

"What the hell Stark? Does it please you to see me humiliated in such a way?" The green eyed God hissed, one hand gripped tightly round his lovers neck. Removing his hands from his modesty, Tony pulled the disturbingly tight grip from him and massaged his neck slightly before stating his defence.  
"Hey, hey! Don't bring me down to their level! I had no idea they would turn up this quickly, I thought they would take forever, like usual. I literally didn't have time to warn you before they turned up."  
"And yet you still invited them down without even mentioning it to me first?" Loki snapped back, something akin to hurt adding weight to his accusation. Tony sighed loudly, scratching the side of his face noncommittally.  
"Look, it wasn't a brilliant ideas And I know! Hold the shock please, I do sometimes make bad calls, but I just didn't want you running off again."  
A sudden temperature drop in the room indicated that this might not have been the greatest choice of words. "What I MEANT to say," he quickly revised, "was that I just wanted another excuse to show you off. They should get to see the real you sometime. I feel bad for them missing out. And believe me, you really do look radiant in that ensemble, I don't know anyone that can pull off both midriff and reindeer at the same time and still look fantastic. The death glares were especially sexy." He added hastily, his tongue putting in the overtime when his brain switched off.

The slightest of smirks that toyed with the corners of Loki's mouth told him he had gotten away with it.  
"So what do you say Cinderella, will you go to the ball with me tonight?" Tony asked hopefully. Loki snorted and threw a handful of materialised casual wear at him.  
"I think I could stand to be around them for a little while." He shrugged, before turning to make his way back into the room. Tony coughed pointedly and nodded at him, as if to remind him of what he was still wearing.  
"Fuck it, Stark. I am comfortable. This is my home too and I'll be damned if I'm getting changed just because of those lesser beings." He half shouted, well aware the others could hear every word of it. "Besides," he added "I make this shit look good." And with that, he sauntered casually back into the living room.

Tony shook his head slowly before allowing himself a genuine laugh, and wiping the tears from his eyes, he followed suit. Throwing his pants on almost as an after thought.

All eyes were fixated on the lanky, angular form of the once proud Asgardian God as he sat, wearing those _ridiculous_ clothes, cross legged on a bar stool swigging tequila straight from the bottle.  
"Little brother, don't you think you should maybe slow down slightly? The night is young yet." Thor boomed, his thunderous voice shattering the awkward silence.  
"No offense, _older brother_, but I'm going to need a lot more than this in order to cope with your rabble."  
"And this is why I am an alcoholic." Tony chirped happily, causing Steve to give him a faintly disapproving look whilst Clint clapped his hands together in mock realisation.  
And so the night progressed…  
Thor took it upon himself to match Steve drink for drink, forgetting for the umpteenth time that it was nigh on impossible for Steve to get drunk. Clint begged Natasha to let him do belly shots off her whilst Bruce and Tony talked all things scientific and the merits of brewing beer over designing planetary defence systems. Loki meanwhile erred on the fringes of the various conversations, all the while pouring himself more interesting and oddly coloured cocktails. Occasionally he conjured up one of those little umbrella things and used it to mindlessly stir his drinks as he waited patiently for the night to end.

But that was before the shots challenge.

"So brother!" Thor slurred slightly, offering the bored God an unopened bottle of absinthe. "Let us see you put that silver tongue to good use!" He yelled, unaware of the potentially incestuous connotations within that last sentence. Loki merely arched an eyebrow, opened his mouth to snipe something back, and thought better of it.  
"Play nicely princess." Tony almost whispered in his ear, the stubble of his chin ticking the shell of his ear. Rolling his eyes, the despairing trickster accepted the bottle grudgingly. He removed the cap and sniffed the questionable contents within, crinkling his nose in distaste.  
"Come, let us make our ancestors proud!"

Loki sighed, raising the bottle to his lips tentatively. Thor was doing the same, he noted, with a bottle that had a greatly lower percentage plastered across it than his own. Bastard. You cannot trick the trickster.  
On the count of three the two tilted their heads back and 'chugged'.  
Their crowd cheered and the chants quickly shifted from 'Thor!' to 'Loki!' as the slender God emptied his bottle, licking his lips and coughing slightly afterwards. Thor lowered his ¾ empty drink and stared blankly for a second.  
"Liesmith! What trickery is this?" He roared, a smile dancing hazily across his features. Loki responded with a hiccough and shook his head.  
"No tricks. I'm just better than you." He replied smartly.

The Avengers cheers died down as they slowly began to wonder if the God of Lies truly had just necked an entire bottle of absinthe.  
Loki slid himself off the barstool and took a single step before collapsing on the floor, dissolving into an incoherent stream of snickers and curses.  
"Ladies and gentlemen. Please give yourselves a pat on the back, we have just managed to get a God shit-faced in less than two hours. It took me three. And ketamine." Tony shouted, shaking the hands of his comrades, before attempting to pick up the disturbingly smiley heap of subjugator off the floor.  
Loki, once upright, attempted to shove his boyfriend away from him, and in the process fell on top of him dragging the smaller man down with him. Luckily something cushioned their landing.  
"I think a Banner broke our fall." Tony muttered.  
"I think we broke Banner." Loki slurred.  
"I think I want to die." Laughed Bruce as he hauled himself upright, pulling Tony up as Thor manhandled his brother into something resembling a vertical arrangement.

After brushing himself down Tony let himself fall onto the couch, the newly appointed God of Absinthe pouring himself onto his lap, legs crossed, another umbrella adorned cocktail clenched firmly in his hand.  
"Now sweets, I know you have an affinity for those funny coloured drinks, but are you sure you wouldn't want something a little more… watery?"  
"Shut up Stark. I do what I want." Loki said, his tongue thick and heavy in his mouth, taking another sip of purple just to spite him. There really was no way to discern just what it was he was drinking unless you tried it for yourself, and that was highly unadvisable.  
"So Loki," Natasha began, all innocence as she sat down on the chair opposite, "just how many of those Norse myths of ours are true?" She asked coyly, not nearly as drunk as she pretended. Clint, Bruce and Thor on the other hand had all managed to get themselves quite blissfully inebriated. They followed the Widows lead and took seats however, suddenly intrigued by this new line of questioning. Loki did not appear to be in damage control mode.

This could only end badly. Tony prayed that the red headed fox was not nearly as well up on her Norse myths as he feared she might be.  
"What are your thoughts on horses Loki?"

Fuck.

…

Thank you again muchly for entertaining my ramblings guys and dolls! :D  
Hope you enjoyed it!


	4. Hung like a

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: Would just like to say thank you for all of the lovely comments I've been getting!  
AllThingsAreBene – Your comment made me especially happy, thank you very much!  
Kowy – I have been working on trying to add more dialogue in now, after reading your comment I realized that the dialogue was a bit patchy, so thank you for mentioning it and I hope it's improved! :)

…

Loki wavered a moment, rocking slightly on the iron mans lap as if being deep in thought drained his inability to sit still.  
"I like horses. Why?" He asked eventually, completely oblivious to the snickers and wide eyed stares around him. Natasha smiled wickedly and reclined back in her chair.  
"Is it true that you have a horse for a son?" Direct. As per usual Stark thought sardonically. The last time he had enquired about Sleipnir, it had resulted on him sleeping on the couch.  
"Yes, he's called Sleipnir." Loki replied, slightly more guardedly this time. Natasha's smirk grew even wider, if that were possible. Thor's slightly glazed stare regained a little of its focus once he realised where this question was headed.  
"You mean you really slept with a horse? How did that thing not split you in two, there is literally nothing to you!" Clint roared, slapping his knee as if to punctuate the ridiculousness of the statement. Loki tried to frown, the look he achieved however was decidedly more… squinty.

"I was a horse at the time. A female one. I had to lure him away and then…" He trailed, a slight flush gracing his cheeks. Thor stood abruptly to his feet, wagging his finger as if lecturing a naughty student.  
"You did no such thing brother. You were drunk!" He slurred, a broad grin plastered across his face. Loki shook his head violently.  
"Not true Thor! Lies! All of it. It was a… noble thing that I did. If I didn't then that thing would have happened. Which would have been bad."  
"Nonsense brother! You were so drunk you made a wager with the warriors three and Sif that you could outrun that horse, and when they asked how you would get it to follow you, you turned yourself into a mare!" The thunder God corrected. "After you ran off into the woods we waited around for hours and just as we were about to give up, thinking you had gotten bored and left, you re-appeared from the forests looking…. Dishevelled."

Loki stammered for a moment, his mouth opening and closing, yet no words escaped. This, Tony thought, had certainly been an _enlightening_ night.  
"Did not." The cocktail sipping God fainlly shouted back, his silver tongue apparently having lost its edge. Had he taken the time to look around, he would have noticed the way the Avengers were barely managing to contain themselves. Stark included.  
"That's not what happened at all!"  
"Then tell me brother, what did happen?"

There was silence.  
And then:  
"I've got nothing." Loki admitted, defeated, slouching back to rest against the now well and truly pinned Tony, arc reactor humming soothingly against his spine.  
"I thought I could outrun him, but I was still drunk, and it's hard enough to stand on two legs never mind four. And then I fell, and then… Svadilfari really wasn't that bad. I've slept with worse." He mused aloud, looking at Tony afterwards, a wry smile clinging to his slightly purple stained lips.  
All the pent up laughter that had been building since the conversation began exploded into the room like a mini nuke. Finally, after a long while of nobody being able to do much of anything besides hold their sides and wipe tears from their eyes the room quietened again, Tony struggling to lower the eyebrow that was heading dangerously close to flying right off his forehead.  
"So what, I, the great Tony Stark do not compare to a lowly mule? I find that hard to believe. This man is a drunk and a liar, believe nothing he says. Apart from the bit where he got knocked up." The former playboy declared in a vain attempt to sooth his dented ego.  
"I didn't want to ask at first but I did wonder why you were walking bowlegged back to your room afterwards, little brother." Thor stated as Loki placed both his hands over his face, only a little bit aware of the enormous hole he had dug for himself.  
"And I still remember the mood swings. I have never seen the All-Father quite so terrified in all my life as when he mentioned how big you were getting and you raged so hard Frigga thought you might give birth on the spot. And the crying! What was it you turned up at my door in the early hours wailing ab-"  
"THOR. SHUT UP. I am a GOD. You cannot go around just telling people these things!" Loki screamed from behind his palms.

"I hate to spoil the party, but I think maybe we've all indulged enough for tonight. And I'm sure Loki will agree that the sooner he goes to bed, the sooner he can attempt to block out all memories of tonight." Steve suggested after the howling had finally died down. He noted the relieved sigh from Stark and nodded in acknowledgement.  
It was only as the rest of the crew began to drift off into their various alcohol induced slumbers that Natasha and Steve questioned whether they had ever actually laughed as much in their entire lives. They watched, small smiles and all, as one Mr Tony Stark, former player and certified bachelor, bridal style carried his paramour to bed. They didn't comment on the small patch of drool the God of Mischief had left on his lovers shirt as he nuzzled the broad chest currently doubling as a pillow.  
"Night all. Try not to deface Clint too much before he wakes up." Stark said, nodding in the general direction of a heap of coats that occasionally seemed to snore, the door sliding shut behind him.

Thor stood unsteadily to his feet, shaking his head momentarily before staggering out onto the corridor. He waved his goodbyes as he tried to remember which one of these doors lead to his room. Steve made to guide his Norse friend, but was quickly stopped by Bruce and Natasha as they each grabbed a hand and pulled him back down.  
The three sat in a companionable silence for a while, each mulling over the events that had just transpired. It was Bruce, surprisingly enough, who finally broke the silence.  
"You know guys, I hate to admit it, but Loki isn't actually that bad. I mean, ignoring the murders and that whole inferiority complex thing." He said, a little shocked at hearing himself uttering those words. Natasha nodded in complete understanding.  
"I didn't particularly want to have to agree, but I think the Svadilfari comment won me over."  
"He had me at Shut up Stark." Steve admitted.  
Shaking her head, the Widow shoved Clint from his precarious position on the edge of the couch, coats and all and shook her head when he didn't even stir as he hit the floor. After several more minutes of waiting to see if Stark re-emerged, Steve walked over to the bar and drew three beers from the fridge before sharing them out.  
"To new friends?"  
"To bestiality."  
"To the laws of nature weeping quietly."

From within the confines of his bedroom, cradling a faintly snoring God to his chest, Tony Stark smiled at the clinking of glasses. He had done it. He was a fucking genius. Closing his eyes, enjoying the refreshing sensation that entailed he quietly asked "JARVIS?"  
"Yes sir?" His automation replied.  
"Am I right in guessing that by some small chance you may have recorded tonight's proceedings?" He asked wryly.  
"If you mean did I manage to capture your partner admitting he slept with, and consequently gave birth to a horse over a drunken bet, then yes, sir, you would be correct."  
"Thanks JARVIS, that's all I needed to hear. Make back up copies of it though, and send some of them out to outlying devices, I don't think Loki will be all too impressed in the morning."  
"'m not gonna be 'mpressed with wha?" A small voice mumbled from somewhere beneath the glowing cavity in his chest. Tony smiled and raised the bleary eyed face so he could see it clearly.  
"Nothing babe." He replied without skipping a beat.

Forcing himself to his knees, Loki shuffled forwards until he collapsed next to his bed mate so their heads were level, trying desperately to keep his vision on the millionaire. After a moment of intense almost staring, Loki tried to gently place a hand across the others face, instead almost slapping him. "Did I win?" He asked, stifling a yawn. Tony chuckled quietly, pulling the lanky form besides him onto his lap.  
"Darling, you were fabulous. And I mean that from the very depths of my arc reactor. Never have I ever been as sincere in fact as when I tell you that you were, Princess, the belle of the ball." In response, something like a strangled giggle escaped the Gods usually guarded lips which quickly turned into something a little more guttural. Diving in for a kiss, clinking teeth painfully in the process, Tony took part in what was probably the sloppiest make out session to date. Not so much on his part.  
"What have you done to me, Stark?" Loki asked during a moment of frightening lucidity as he struggled out of his too small top.  
Man of iron that he was, Tony Stark was not one to just sit back and just watch someone struggle needlessly, and so did the only gentlemanly thing possible and helped his cohort out of his slacks.

Never let it be said that Tony Stark was anything if not a gentleman.

"Come on reindeer games, let's see if you remember _this_in the morning." He smirked, throwing Loki beneath him.

Natasha, Steve and Bruce tried desperately to ignore any ragged breathing from the adjoining room. But couldn't help but laugh at the cries of "too fast!" quickly followed by a short bout of dry heaving and a final, resounding battle cry of:  
"TAKE THAT SVADILFARI!" Followed by what could only be described as a very un-Godly snort and the echoes of more retching.

…

Well guys, there's another one down! ;) Again, hope you enjoyed it as much as I liked writing it!


	5. Princess

Trick of the Light

Rated T

Read and enjoy guys! :)

…

"Stark. Stark. Stark! STARK WAKE UP YOU PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR AN ORGANISM."  
'Huh? What–God Loki, what is it?" Tony groaned, rolling over dragging the pillow over his head. Besides him Loki thrashed around under the sheets clutching his head, the volume of his words sending tremors through his skull. Sighing, Tony threw the pillow to the floor and looked under the duvet clucking with mock disapproval at the pathetic sight before him. Curled in the foetal position, Loki had pressed himself tightly against the muscular mortal body whilst he groaned loudly, eyes forced shut.  
"Princess?"  
"I think I've gone blind. Hnnn- Oh for the love of-" The God managed before throwing himself off the bed, making an ungainly sprint for the bathroom. Tony waited for a moment, and realising that the deity wasn't likely to soon be leaving the immediate vicinity of the toilet, made his way over to the frankly wretched looking man. He found Loki draped halfway over the bath, apparently he didn't have time to make it all the way to aforementioned waste receptacle. Making soft 'shushing' noises Tony decided to at least attempt to make boyfriend of the year and began rubbing the small of the pale back in front of him, all the while making those same comforting noises. Some sort of mongrel growl/whimper escaped the tricksters throat as he retched violently again.

From the living room Natasha and Steve shared a look. Maybe hanging around for breakfast was a bad idea, from the sounds of things, their new favourite God of Mischief did not appear to be having the best of mornings. Although from what they'd heard a few hours previously, he'd had a fantastic night. Somewhere under a pile of jackets a small figure stirred.  
"What year is it?" Clint asked to nobody in particular. Natasha smiled as she wandered over to sit on his back, effectively pinning him to the ground. Her grin widened a little at his grunt of discomfort as his stomach suddenly realised it was not happy with the current set up.  
"Come on birdbrain, we should get while the going's good." She said not unkindly. On the other side of the room Steve tried in vain to wake Banner from what appeared to be some sort of coma. Before they had chance to collect themselves however, the bedroom door slid open revealing a relatively fresh faced Stark closely accompanied by what must have once been a man.  
"The playboy, billionaire lifestyle is not for everyone it would seem." He offered as the only currently conscious God painfully made his way to the bar. Nobody commented on the sunglasses perched on the bridge of his nose as he managed to steady himself on a stool and rest his forehead on the cool, marble surface.

"How you feeling today Loki?" Rogers asked loudly enough to cover the Widows startled snort. He was answered with a series of hand gestures that he was sure were insulting in some way. "How about you Tony? You look… surprisingly normal." Tony clapped his hands loudly near the suffering immortals ears, smirking at the low groan that escaped his lover, before quickly stepping out of arms reach.  
"Steve my friend, I am feeling positively radiant today. The same however, cannot be said for the usually radiant flower now propping my bar up." That earned him a half hearted swipe from the pained creature semi sprawled across the counter. A door slammed somewhere within the complex, which was an achievement in itself as most of the doors in the Avengers building slid open.  
"BROTHER." A familiar voice resonated throughout the room. "By the Nine Realms, you look like death!" Thor bellowed, striding over to slap his brother across the back. The sudden contact almost sent Loki flying, bracing himself against the edge of the bar he managed to steady himself, his hands eventually returning to their previous position; protecting his ears.  
"Touch me again, brother, and I will break you." He seethed into the table. Laughing loudly, causing the God of Chaos to groan even louder, Thor turned his attention to finding breakfast, and nobody was surprised to find that that mainly entailed pop-tarts. A lot of them.

"We should really be getting going, I don't even know where the permanent marker came from, but whatever that is scrawled across Clint's face should probably come off before we have to make another public appearance." Natasha managed eventually, she had been having too much fun watching Loki suffer. He might not be a threat as such anymore, but she had googled mewling quim, and she was still pretty bitter about that. That and what he did to Hawkeye. But mainly the quim thing. As amusing as the mischief maker was, there were still some things that would take a lot of getting over. Mind control being one of them. And despite their best efforts, you couldn't just glaze over something like that with a good night in and expect everyone to suddenly fall in love with each other.

But they'd try. Even Clint. If only for Tony's sake.

"I should probably escort Banner back to his room, he's completely out of it, I can't wake h-" Steve was cut short as a glass of water suddenly materialised in the air above the sleeping Hulkling.  
"Loki, I really wouldn't-"  
The sound of spluttering and a sharp intake of breath before some rather eloquent curses punctuated Steve's sentence. Arms flailing, Banner shot up, wiping behind his glasses as the water trickled down his brow.  
"What the hell was that for?" He demanded. Steve shrugged whilst Thor tried desperately to focus on his breakfast for fear of grinning.  
"You were on my couch. I wanted you off." Came the snarky reply from the bar. Tony whistled and handed Bruce a dishcloth, silently apologising to his colleague in the way that men have long since learnt to do when their spouse does something innately bitchy, but mentioning it will get them into even more trouble.  
"I'll see you guys out, you staying here Thor?"  
"No. He isn't." Loki answered for him. Thor ruffled his brother's hair and, beaming like a maniac, followed the rest of the gang as they quickly made their way out of the room.

After the last one had left Tony allowed himself a long sigh, closing his eyes and stretching his arms, listening with satisfaction as his spine clicked back into place. It was shortly after this small display of relief that Loki felt something rubbing his shoulders, and despite his best efforts whimpered slightly beneath the others touch. He felt like he'd run into Mjolnir. Repeatedly.  
"Are they gone, Stark?" He asked pointedly, not bothering to lift his face up from the cool surface, the sunglasses still pressed firmly to his face.  
"Yes sweetheart, your adoring fan club has now departed. What would you have me do now, O' Gloriously Hung-Over One?" Tony replied coolly, the widest of grins adorning his face.  
"Kill me. Please. Just do it quickly."

Loki refrained from gagging as he was suddenly dragged from the bar as a familiar pair of arms grabbed him round the stomach and dragged him to the couch that Banner had graciously tried to dry off after the God's little hissy fit. Falling back onto the couch with the more delicate frame on top of him Tony allowed himself a small chuckle when Loki couldn't even work up the energy to fight back. Pulling the shades from his lovers face, he watched with unbridled amusement as the other writhed and clawed the air wildly for something to shield his burning eyes before deciding that the sunlight wasn't as bad as he'd initially feared.  
"What's wrong precious?" Tony asked, not particularly expecting a reply. A groan sufficed as a response. They lay that way for half an hour or so, watching the Sun pass by before either said a word.  
"My stomach hurts." Came the pitiful response eventually. Loki groaned, wrapping his arms around his middle, nausea overriding all his other senses. Taking pity on the man Tony snaked his arms around the skinny frame and gently slid his arms up the shirt covering Loki's stomach and slowly began to rub circles on it. He assumed he was being given clearance to continue when the troublemaker closed his eyes and tilted his head back so it rested in the cleft of Starks neck.

"How bad was I last night?" The trickster finally mustered the courage to ask.  
"You giggled."  
"And?"  
"So Svadilfari wasn't that bad eh?"  
"Oh… Oh no. I didn't? Please tell me they don't know-"  
"That you slept with a horse for a drunken bet gone wrong essentially? Yeah they know."  
"Fuck. What is wrong with you! Why didn't you stop me from answering?"  
"I couldn't really. As you so often tell me 'you do what you want', besides, you had me pinned at the time."  
"Do they remember?"  
"I'm pretty sure they already have the t-shirts printed. You could be internet famous you know? There's a niche market for being able to be screwed by a horse and not die afterwards."  
"Shut up, Stark. I was a horse too though! Surely that doesn't make things as bad as they otherwise sound?"  
"Are you telling me that you couldn't walk away from a sexy encounter of the horsey kind in this form?"  
Loki took a moment to think that one over.  
"No, you're right. I probably could. We Gods are made of stronger stuff."  
"I'll bear that in mind next time you and I are pinned between a horny stallion and safety. FYI I'm totally throwing you to it and getting the hell outta there."  
"Stark."  
"Yes?"  
"Please do shut up."  
"Sure thing babe. You did me proud last night." He finished, kissing the bridge of Loki's nose. The two remained that way long into the afternoon until JARVIS interrupted their wallowing.

"Sir, Nick Fury is on the line, he says to get your ass down town right this second or he will, and I quote, "Fuck all your shit up into next week". He also says Natasha will be calling you within the next fifty seconds with the details. Loki will be required as well. That is all."  
Both men groaned audibly. Loki attempted to curl up into a ball again and pretend to be asleep when Tony forced him up.  
"I am not going out like this Stark." Loki said, his tone warranting no arguments. Not that Tony would care. "Come on gorgeous." Tony rallied. "The sooner we get out there the sooner you can get back to eating ice cream crying about your hangover. You never know, maybe killing something will lighten your mood?"  
"I only did that once. And that was a really bad hangover." The green eyed man snapped back before waving his hands in front of him, transforming his slacks and top into his battle ready attire. He considered abandoning the helmet, but it did slightly detract from his haggard appearance. Giant golden horns on top of your head tended to do that.

"If we must." He spat, not as venomously as he'd have liked. The man of iron grinned as he got himself suited up.  
"Well then, my Goddess, the world awaits!"

Loki rolled his eyes. This was going to be a long fight.  
He was going to subjugate the fuck out of those bastards.

…

That little drunken escapade wasn't supposed to drag out as long, so sorry if you guys thought that it's taken ages to play out! :P  
Comment away lovelies, you know I like hearing from you :D


	6. Boo Hiss

Trick of the Light

Rated T

Just in case my updates take a day or so longer to finish in the near future, I don't have any intentions of stopping this any time soon, but be rest assured that when I do I'll let you know in advance :))))

…

A crushing blow sent the man of iron careening into a shop front, splintering glass tinkled as it shattered over his suit, thousands of tiny scratches now decorating the red and gold machinery. Someone was swearing angrily down his headset. Grimacing, thankful for the visor obscuring his face, he picked himself up gingerly, mentally accounting for the damage done to both his body and his suit. Something was dented that was for sure, and not in the least his pride. Launching from his current position several blocks away he quickly caught up with his team, none of which seemed to be doing any better than himself.  
The hulk appeared to have been swatted to one side not long ago and was trying to free himself of debris, Thor was waging war against the creatures head, his hammer doing seemingly nothing aside from anger it. Clint and Natasha steered clear, the Widow emptying round after round into the beast's hide, Hawkeye firing at potential weak spots. Rogers had taken it upon himself to distract the monster, allowing Thor and the others to continue pummelling it without fear of it going for them, not that it mattered much. Tony had already fired several missiles at it, the first two were sent rocketing into the air as it knocked them aside with frightening ease.

It wasn't like anything they had encountered before, and there was no way in hell that this _thing_ was from Earth. It had been sent here, by who, apparently not even their resident Gods could guess. All they knew was that it was big, mean and seriously pissed. Not even their resident loresmith had any clue as to what or where this creature was from, and speaking of said wizard;  
"Loki where the hell are you? We're getting our asses handed to us here!" Stark shouted into over the com, Loki's headset crackled as he shot back a sarcastic reply, his words almost lost within the interference. Tony seriously needed to take a look at his partner's headset, top of the range as it was, it didn't stop the tricksters magic from interfering with the quality of the calls, more often than not rendering him inaudible.

A streak of green light tore his eyes away from the carnage before of him, the rest of the team barely registering the second Gods arrival. Stopping directly in front of the raging abomination the golden horned deity gripped his staff tightly with both hands and began chanting strange words that the rest of the team only caught half of before a flash of blinding light which left emerald impressions on their eyelids stopped them in their tracks. Once the group had regained their sight they stared around blearily for the God of Mischief. He hadn't moved an inch. Dawning realisation slowly blossomed over the horned Gods face before he slowly started backing away. A gigantic fist flew towards him causing the God to leap backwards with a yelp.  
"Loki! What in the hell was that?" Fury's voice yelled from their headsets. Shaking his head, disbelief still warping his features, Loki quickly backed away from the monstrosity until he found himself besides Tony.  
"Well sugar? Care to explain that monumental fail just then?"  
"I'm not sure what just happened. That wasn't supposed to happen. The spell was perfect, I recited it flawless-"  
"Loki? What's wrong?"  
"I think I- Oh no, no no no no no no."

Before anyone could question the liesmiths strange behaviour he dropped to all fours, sweat beginning to glisten across his face. Gritting his teeth he supressed a scream as his blood turned to fire. From the Avengers perspective, something had gone horribly wrong with whatever it was that Loki had been trying to cast. They watched open mouthed as his legs began to knit together, his body elongating to painful proportions. His helmet appeared to melt into his skin until only the horns remained, the leather turning into some sort of hide until they were faced with something equally as horrific as the thing they had just been trying to kill. Finally, after the transformation had ceased, the still green eyed God stared down at his new body with blatant disgust. Lips turned up into a snarl he cursed under his breath, his words marred by a slight hiss.

"I was _supposed_ to summon a gigantic serpent reminiscent of the Midgard Serpent, like the one in your myths. I did _not_ want to turn into it myself." He grimaced. A sinewy, scaled body coiled round itself up until a pair of angular hips broke the snake like body in two, the torso, arms and head still very much Loki's. Albeit snakier. And with real horns. "Shit just got weird." Clint muttered under his breath.  
Resigning himself to his new form, he lashed out at the creature, grabbing it by the sides of its head before slamming the brutish face into the ground repeatedly. This lasted quite some time, and despite the beasts thrashing the Gods grip was vice like. After a long, awkward moment, he pulled back to survey his handiwork. He couldn't tell anymore if what he was looking at was supposed to be a face or…  
"That was terrifying and I mean genuinely disturbing. You just… smashed its face off. Just all up and hulked out on that thing." Hawkeye stammered, eying the snake God with something resembling awe.  
"As much as I'm loving this new, snaky, scaly look you're going for, how about you turn back? I miss you not having an ass." Tony shouted at his now towering lover. Fascinated, they watched as Loki closed his eyes, waving his hands in front of himself, much like when he changed into his Asgardian attire. And when he opened his eyes again, he quickly realised that absolutely nothing had happened. Again. His tail twitched agitatedly.  
"Darling…?" Stark queried, flying upwards to save himself the bother of shouting. "Is your magic broken or something?" He hazarded, quickly dodging the possibly lethal hand that clawed through the air where he'd been hovering a few seconds previously.  
"It's nothing. Just a delayed reaction." Loki snapped. Banner hadn't managed to de-hulk yet and the green giant had decided that Loki's new sinewy form would make a great climbing frame. Hissing, the snake God tried to slither from under the Hulks grip, tangling himself up in the process. Tony stifled a snicker as the liesmith writhed and wriggled as the Hulk darted under the endless loops and coils, making a game of angering the already pissed God.

"Loki! Brother! Calm down, he will tire of this eventually!" Thor yelled from somewhere far below them, even the God of Thunder didn't want to be particularly close to his beloved little bro.  
"I will not be humiliated in such a way. If he doesn't get off me in the next 3 seconds, he's dead." The serpentine creature spat.  
"Now, now snake hips, let's not be too hasty here!" Tony said, flying round until he was at eye level with the towering God. Loki snatched his lover from the air, gripping him tightly with one hand, reaching for the Hulk with his other. After grabbing hold of big, green and ugly, he lifted his arm to his lips and whispered into his fist "Payback." Before flinging the green man as hard as he could down the street. The green blur tore through several buildings before finally coming to a halt. He didn't stand up immediately and for a heart stopping moment, the Avengers wondered whether the foul tempered, presumably still hung over God had actually killed their Hulk.

"I'm just going to throw this out there, but I didn't actually mean to throw him that far. Or hard." Loki deadpanned, only half lying. The foul, green thing could rot in a hole for all he cared, but he actually quite liked Banner.  
"Please turn back." Tony quietly begged from the recesses of a still tightly curled fist. "Also not killing me, that would be a thing." He added as he felt the grip slacken until he could fly free. Raising his head to meet Loki's eyes, he noticed a shadow of doubt flicker across the newly transformed giants features that Stark quickly acknowledged as doubt, and was that fear in there too?  
"You can turn yourself back, right?" He asked calmly, his getting antsy now in the wake of some monumentally hung over, magically enhanced, partially mentally unstable God would not be a good idea. "Loki?"  
"I… I don't know. I haven't used this much magic in a while, and considering the… stress, my body has been under, I'm not sure when I'll be able to turn back." He finally replied in a voice much softer than Tony would have expected. This had really shaken him up. "Oh Gods Tony, I'm sorry. This was supposed to be me helping the Avengers and redeeming myself, and all I've done is somehow make things worse." He added, staring with un-hidden horror at his slithering mass. "It didn't even work like I'd wanted it too! I wasn't supposed to remain half me, it was supposed to be all serpent! I am sorry, Tony. Maybe this was a mistake after all." He continued, his words beginning to falter as his eyes grew wider with each little self imagined revelation.

"Hey Loki!" A small voice from the ground yelled, the sound practically deafening Tony as it screamed through the headset. "That was so fucking cool. Did you see how much hang time Banner got before he landed!" Clint laughed.  
"I must admit, despite not approving of your dealing with our green friend, you really took care that monster!" Yelled Rogers.  
"You're not the worst team mate we could have gotten on board." Natasha allowed with a small grin, probably invisible to Loki at his current height. Swinging Mjolnir until it became an unrecognisable blur, Thor flung himself upwards, landing heavily on a bony shoulder. Giving his brother a pat on the neck, the thunder God proceeded to congratulate him in his familiar _far too fucking loud _voice. Loki still looked almost too shocked to respond, the sudden praise from what might potentially be his new team-mates was a little too much like bordering on having friends. Shaking his head he muttered something instead on needing sleep and recovering his magic before he killed someone. Intentionally or otherwise.

Tony Stark raised his visor again and muted his mic temporarily while he allowed himself a quiet cheer of well fucking done him. They had come through for him, his te- his friends. They had done the unthinkable, and without being bidden, had rallied to the cause by giving his partner that sliver of glory that he really did deserve.  
"Come on, you over grown pair of shoes, let's get back to the tower before you start shedding everywhere." Tony teased, snapping Loki out of his reverie. Grinning, fangs and all, the trickster followed the red and gold mans lead back to their home. He even pretended not to notice when the others jumped on his tail for the ride, stopping briefly to recover the now gloriously naked Banner who still hadn't fully managed to collect himself.

"So what happened, my mighty Iron Man? Is this all getting too much for you?" Loki asked coyly, never missing an opportunity to rub salt into the wound. Tony snorted.  
"Naga please."

…

Thank you again!  
Also, just in case; NAGA; In Hindu and Buddhist mythology, a semi divine being who is half human and half serpent.


	7. Reindeer Games

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: I feel kind of disappointed with the last update [I know it was only a couple of hours ago] but there's something about it I'm not entirely happy with, but I don't know what. For some reason I got a bit stuck with it, and because I felt bad I wrote another chapter, so I hope you like this one a bit more! [unless you didn't mind the other one, but I did, so oh well] :)

…

Bruce Banner was a very open minded man. It was kind of in the job description, sort of. I mean, if someone had told him say, ten or fifteen years ago that he'd end up dealing with magical, mythical beings, he'd have probably laughed it off. But now here he was, having breakfast with the God of Thunder himself in a relatively inconspicuous café whilst waiting for two assassins, a God of Trickery [amongst other things], an alcoholic, genius prat and a super soldier to join them. He tended to accept such statements as "there will be a wizard joining us for breakfast" as the norm now. A niggling thought in the recesses of his brain told him that maybe that was, you know, kind of unhealthy. He tried his best to ignore it.  
Steve was the next to join their merry little band, ordering himself a glass of juice and prolonging the pleasant equilibrium that Bruce had strived to maintain. Natasha and Clint arrived next almost completing the ensemble. Together, as they sat there, they almost looked normal, aside from Thor whom they sometimes told people was a little… touched in the head. The fact that he carried an enormous hammer around with him almost everywhere they went meant that most people didn't really question it further. Banner rubbed his jaw, almost dreading the arrival of the lovebirds. If any two people could shatter any sense of normality just by occupying the same space as each other it was Tony and Loki.  
An hour or so rolled by without any word from the aforementioned couple as to when they'd be gracing the rest of the group with their presence, and it had Bruce feeling kind of on edge. If he was being perfectly honest, he had come to expect Stark's unpredictable time management skills, but Loki wasn't one for making flashy, spectacularly late entrances. He knew for a fact the God practically despaired at how late his partner made them and had managed to get Tony down to being roughly around half an hour or so late for any given social event. In the case of a meeting however he had no qualms about delaying the easily waylaid scientist for as long as possible, or until Fury had a haemorrhage.  
"Guys, I just got a text from Loki." Natasha suddenly interrupted, a frown marring her otherwise flawless complexion. The group turned to look at her. "It just says 'Help', think it's just one of his jokes?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow.  
"I'm not even sure I want to kn- Oh no. Can somebody turn the volume up for the news please?" Banner shouted to the guys behind the counter.

Without a word the group turned towards the wall mounted television and all but Thor experienced a collective inward groan. Clint even went as far as to face palm. The image that greeted them was one of Tony Stark completely in his element, swathed by reporters, paparazzi and journalists, arms linked tightly with an absolutely bewildered Loki. He was addressing the world at large. He was outing his relationship with the God that, not quite a year ago, had tried to enslave the entire human populace armed only with magic, a fabulous staff, oh and an alien army. The trickster, to his credit, hardly looked intimidating dressed in black jeans and a shirt with a tiny reindeer emblazoned on the chest, another one of Starks 'ironic' gifts no doubt.

"Yes, yes I know what you're all thinking," Tony drawled, completely at ease surrounded by the press of bodies, "and frankly, I am ashamed at all of you who doubted my abilities to please a God." It was at this point that Loki closed his eyes, shaking his head slightly, almost as if praying for the ground to swallow him whole. The rest of the Avengers felt his pain.  
"You see, Loki here is now _officially_ part of the Avengers, and he is doing everything in his power to make amends for that little business with the alien army thing. Did I mention how stunning his cheekbones are?" A sharp dig to the ribs temporarily silenced the tongue-wagging philanthropist long enough for Loki to hiss something in his ear. The Iron Mans eyes glinted dangerously at that. A challenge had apparently been issued. Loki noted the look with a decidedly murderous glare. "Just to clarify, Loki Odinson, that's this guy right here, is indeed my boyfriend. And looking at that ass, who can blame me right? Did I also mention his nick name is silver tongue, and believe me, the things he can do wi-"  
"I think you've covered all the basics, Stark. We should leave. Now." Loki snapped in a perfectly clipped tone. There was a line fast approaching that Tony was dangerously close to clearing.  
"But princess, I haven't even told them about what you can do with your-"  
"Question your God again and I swear this silver tongue will be the reason you will be pissing sideways for the rest of your life." The green-eyed God spat. A glaring silence answered him occasionally interrupted by the flash of a camera, as he slowly became aware of what he had just said, tarring his image as an eloquent, rational and not entirely insane being. Live on television. To thousands, if not millions of people. He felt a slight flush mar his cheeks, and was saved from humiliating himself further when Stark hastily rounded off the interview.  
"Well, ladies and gentlemen there you have it! If you'll excuse us, Reindeer Games and I must be going, so many meetings, saving the world parties, superhero shin-digs and whatnot to attend and so little time." He beamed, dragging the teeth grinding God through the crowd and into a sleek, black car that had, at some point, managed to pull up besides them inconspicuously during the interview, no doubt at Peppers behest once she caught wind of the publicity shit storm that was currently going down.

Suddenly the idea of a peaceful, _normal_ breakfast with friends seemed completely out of reach and Bruce mentally it filed away under 'things I will never have'. Thor had almost choked part way through Tony's ramblings screaming something about taking Mjolnir to the man of irons kneecaps. Steve and the assassins had already started placing bets on how long Stark would live and whether he'd ever even make it out of that car. A phone started ringing at the table, Banner sighed when he realised that it was his. He hated how he was the go-to guy when Stark fucked up and nobody could get hold of the man of the hour himself. They weren't joined at the hip, though that much was obvious now after his little talk with the press.  
Flipping his phone he groused a little at the sight of Fury's name flashing angrily on the screen before answering. The rest of the Avengers listened intently to the one half of the conversation they could hear.  
"Yes, we all saw. No we had no idea. I don't know when- well I wouldn't worry about that now sir, it's not likely we'll ever see him again. But if that _is_ the case, I'd get unrestricted access and the rights to his lab right? No sir, that wasn't a joke. Yes. I'll do that. Yeah, have a good day sir." He finished.  
"Fury having kittens?" Clint asked, grinning.  
"Director Fury is a shape shifter too?" Thor asked.  
"So is he in line for lynching Stark too?" Natasha inquired, leaving Steve to deal with the previous question. "He'll have a long wait if he is," she continued, "you do not even want me to repeat what Pepper just text me." She added, unable to conceal her ever widening grin.  
"Fury told me to alert him when Tony next made an appearance, apparently he hasn't returned to HQ. If he has any sense at all he'll lie low for a while, let this whole thing die down first." Bruce replied, his answer punctuated by a far too familiar and jovial "Hello friends!"

Every single pair of eyes snapped to the cocksure voice, and then drifted to the eye that looked as if were already starting to blacken. Tony sat down between Banner and Natasha, dragging an ashen face Loki with him. The God merely placed his face in his hands, elbows resting on the table, for once not caring how 'teeming with Midgardian filth' it might be and seemed unable to utter a single word.  
"So by the looks on your faces, I'm guessing I'm the only one who thought that went well?" Tony laughed, quickly returning Barton's high five whilst Loki silently anguished. "Well, hey there's one seal of approval, no more?"  
"Tony I… Was the black eye and impending lynching worth it?" Bruce questioned, struggling to keep his expression impassive.  
"Son of Howard, you realised that I am going to have to crush you for this slight. I will not have my brother shamed so publically whilst you-"  
"Oh come off it Thor, you absolute waste of grey matter, I think you already achieved that when you stopped me from taking over this pathetic little world aided by a man whose only function is to fire arrows. ARROWS THOR." Loki snapped before dissolving into a muffled diatribe on how higher being shouldn't have to suffer in this way, and if it was too early for tequila, but to hell with it, he was a God and he can do as he pleased.

With a flick of his wrist the liesmith emptied a large quantity of hastily magicked tequila into the cup of tea Rogers had just placed in front of him before downing it rapidly. Nobody questioned this, although Thor shot the younger God his best puppy dog eyes in an attempt to reconcile with his stricken little brother. Placing the empty cup down next to the bottle of rapidly depleted alcohol still on the table, with no signs of disappearing, Loki finally exhaled loudly as if gaining some semblance of control over his tongue.  
"Apologies, Barton, your archery skills are probably without equal on this planet, but Thor you are still an idiot. Still, I apologise for the vitriolic manner in which I called you one." He said finally, his eyes fixated however on the bottle in front of him, the inner turmoil over whether to just be done with it and neck it apparent to the rest of the group. Tony merely laughed and draped an arm around his lovers shoulders, ignoring the flinch he felt upon contact.  
"Do you guys have any idea what I've just done? I mean really? Loki was this feared, reviled figure before now, and I have just managed to embarrass him on national television whilst simultaneously revealing our relationship. Gods knows it's probably on the internet already and I can guarantee the majority of comments will be showing nothing but sympathy towards our once wayward God here. If it's one thing I can do well, it's manipulate the press. You guys should give me a little credit, I think you forget that I'm Iron Man, I'm awesome."  
"If you can survive the rest of this conversation without Loki stabbing you in the eyes with a fork, I might be able to start believing that." Romanoff interjected, surreptitiously edging her fork closer to the vexed God.  
"I can see where the logic comes from." Loki exclaimed finally, much to the disbelief of the others. " Do not get me wrong, I am sorely tempted to end Starks life, the fork method being just one of the many options I am taking into consideration, but I can see why it might be beneficial. At the moment I do not look like a God should, for all intents and purposes I look very much incapable of taking over the world dressed like this. And I am also not especially fond of cameras being shoved in my face, nor being mortified in public, but if Tony thinks that this will work, and it had better, I will give him the benefit of the doubt for now. Besides, people seemed a little less eager to hate me after I saved your worthless hides for the umpteenth time last week." He explained with a grimace.  
"So this whole 'giving him the benefit of the doubt' thing only came about after the black eye i'm guessing?" Steve asked before shooting the man of iron a look that almost read _'sorry, but you did kind of deserve it.'  
_"One day, guys, you will thank me for this. And Loki might too, once he realises that I have shares in a company selling official 'reindeer games' merchandise which are now selling out left, right and centre." Tony trilled, leaning into the now slightly perkier God on his arm. Loki seemed to consider this a moment before shaking his head in resignation, if he got a present out of it, it might not be all that bad he reasoned.

For a long moment the group sat in a sort of amicable silence, occasionally someone reaching over for sugar or asking somebody else to get them another drink. Even Thor managed to keep his voice at a human level.

That was until anger erupted from one end of the table when Loki threw his boyfriends arms from around him, pointing a long, accusatory finger in his face.  
"I swear to the Fucking Halls of Asgard Stark if you've bought me a shitting reindeer I am going to decorate the streets with your entrails." He screamed.  
"If it's any consolation," Tony pretended to wince, "I bought one whose antlers refused to grow and fixed some gold plated ones to it instead. Now you and he can frolic and play all your fabulous little reindeer games without fear of persecution. And I did all this for you." He finished, beaming, watching with delight as it took Loki half an hour of seething under Mjolnir on a dirty café floor before the urge to strangle the life out of his lover had faded.

He had no doubts however that he was going to die that night.  
Not in the least because of the glittering reindeer that actually awaited them back at HQ.

…

Yooooo double upload night! ;)


	8. Blood, Sweat, Tears and Oil

Trick of the Light

Rated T

1st of a two parter, enjoy! :)

…

Despite the almost stifling heat in the apartment a persistent, cold sweat drenched the pale body, bed sheets clinging uncomfortably to every bare scrap of skin. Somehow the lithe figure had managed to completely entangle himself within the thin cotton sheets, and to his chagrin, felt too weak to free himself. It had been a long, painful week after the press incident and Tony had wisely elected to sleep on the couch, or not at all, afterwards. The God hadn't questioned this, in fact, he'd hardly said two words to his lover since. He feared the temptation to throttle the other man might overwhelm him, and this time Mjolnir would not be on hand to detain him. But now, delirious, sweating and alone in a bedroom not designed for isolation, he wished more than ever Stark were there with him.  
He couldn't even work up the energy to call his name.  
It was pathetic.

"Shit! Fucking, ARGH!" Tony cursed loudly shaking his hand furiously, tiny copper droplets spattering the counter. Picking up the offending piece of metal that had enraged him, he tossed it angrily into a darkened corner of the room. Kicking a table leg he threw himself into a nearby chair and sucked at the end of his finger, wrinkling his nose at the taste of blood and oil. Needless to say he had been a little out of sorts the past few days. Since returning to HQ after what he thought was fairly decent press conference, all things considered, Loki had stormed off and locked himself in their bedroom. The genius had decided that the couch would be his safest bet, but sleep refused to come easily and he had spent most of the time in his workshop with several bottles of scotch, sometimes whisky.  
Yesterday he had been forced to meet up with Pepper for dinner. She had asked J.A.R.V.I.S. to set a reminder two hours before they were due to meet and rig it to go off every two minutes. Tony had lasted fifteen minutes until he had thrown a fresh shirt on, grabbed a jacket and abandoned his work. He had called out what he was doing to the still sulking God as he passed by and wasn't surprised when he didn't receive an answer.  
Pepper chose the restaurant, as usual, and had already ordered drinks for them by the time he arrived. Before he uttered a single word he picked up his drink and downed it in one, scowling as it slid down his throat.  
"Pep, was that water?" He asked, faintly annoyed at the little deception.  
"I thought you might need something a bit more refreshing. And sobering. But hi Tony, nice to see you again too!" She replied, quickly slipping into the sarcasm Tony was accustomed to hearing. Running a hand through his unkempt hair he offered her a lopsided grin by way of apology.  
"Sorry, Pep. Things have been a bit rough these past couple of days." He said. She snorted loudly.  
"I am completely on his side on this, just so you know. I know exactly how he felt, he must have been terrified!" Holding up her finger, she cut off whatever excuse her boss was about to make, "And then you went on to humiliate him, he had power Tony, and an image. And you took that away from him, you made him look weak and, well, mortal. Why did you think that would be a good idea?" She asked, her tone softening slightly by the end of her tirade. Her friend rubbed his eyes and leant back in his chair.

"I don't know Pepper. It wasn't really planned, they were just there and so was Loki. I thought it's now or never and just ran with it. I was just sick of hiding him away, like a dirty little secret. He deserved more than that. I don't want him to be hounded by the press and I know he could hold his own against them given the chance. I just wanted them to know about him, who he is and that he's mine. Or I'm his. Or whatever. I want them to like him Pep, I got the Avengers on board, but maybe I got carried away. It seemed like a good idea at the time." He confided. "But," he continued wearily, "he won't even look at me now. I haven't even seen him in nearly two days. He's just shut himself in the bedroom and won't come out. How can I fix this if he won't even talk to me?" He asked, the fatigue of the past week crashing down around him, forcing a silent plea into his words. He hated being stuck on something. He had been a child prodigy, practically a well of information and numbers and problem solving, but he couldn't fix this.  
Relationships, as Pepper well knew, were not his speciality. She shook her head sadly, the smallest of sighs filling the gap between them. They were still close, as close now as they ever were in terms of feelings. They had known their relationship would never last, the sex was great, it always was, but they couldn't force love into their friendship. Not in that way. The next level just hadn't been for them, and they were fine with that. He was still a massive man-child, and despite everything, he was _her_ massive man-child. She had long ago accepted that her mothering instincts never kicked in quite so hard as when she saw her friend so down, and it hurt to see him like that. She had accepted Loki. It had taken a while, but once she had seen how much Tony truly cared for him, she couldn't help but start to like the slightly caustic mischief maker. As much as the green eyed God was loath to admit it, the man of iron and the God of Chaos had a hell of a lot more in common than either of them were prepared to admit.  
"Even if he won't talk to you, maybe he'll listen. All you can do is try, and as angry as you get with each other after your rows, you know he normally cools down after a couple of days. Just talk, you're good at that, even if the content is slightly lacking." She added with a smile, prodding his hand gently. That earned her a tired smirk.  
"Come on then ginger, what are we eating? That scotch won't wash itself down. Well. It would actually, but I'm thinking steak. You want steak? Let's get steak."

The sun seemed to boil him alive. His skin crawled, a haven for fevered moisture. He forced weeping eyes shut, ignoring the sharp intakes of breath that escaped his lungs at every stomach spasm. It took all his energy to roll over onto his side, he couldn't pull his knees up to his chest, as if that would cause him any relief, his arms fell outstretched in front of him. Willowy fingers twitched and trembled, and it took the God a moment to realise that the rest of his body had joined in. The damp wetness that dripped from his eyes tickled his cheeks and chin on the way down, he tried desperately to brush them away but his leaden arms refused to move.  
He was going to die here, he thought miserably; on this sodden bed, alone and in agony. Where was Stark? Why wasn't he here with him? Oh yeah, the argument. He kept forgetting. Months could have passed since their conflict, he couldn't tell anymore if they had, but it felt like it. He hated being alone and he hated admitting it even more, but if his partner turned up now he would gladly forgive him anything. Panic fluttered beneath his chest as the stomach cramps came more frequently accompanied by a more intense pain. And then the world went dark, and for a moment all he heard was his own ragged breathing. Then that faded too and everything went blank.

"Loki! Loki? Are you even in there? Listen, if you are, I can't force you to forgive me. I'm sorry, I realise that I tend to treat the hitches in our relationship like an equation, but that's just the way I work. Before you say it, yeah, I'm an idiot, I know. Worlds smartest idiot maybe, but still a tool. I can't just go back to the drawing board with this one though. I keep hurting you, and I know I'm doing it but I just keep thinking it's for the best. I only want the best for you, so if there's anything I can do to make it up to you…" Tony gave up and let his head fall against the door. He considered trying to barge his way in, but that wouldn't exactly improve the trickster's mood. He turned to leave when a tiny noise caught his attention, without moving an inch he hesitated a moment, praying he hadn't just imagined it.

It was just a door. That was all that separated them. Loki tried again to cry out but the words died on his lips. All he managed was a whimper, another wave of pain coursed through him forcing out a slightly louder noise. He heard a voice, it sounded so far away, Loki gave up any hope of being heard. A hissing noise, like sliding metal forced him to focus his attention on the door. It was gone. Or it was open, it was hard to tell. Everything was so blurry. Calloused fingers prised open his eyelids, he must have closed them again at some point. Someone was calling his name, he hoped it was Stark. He bucked suddenly, his body folding in on itself as a searing pain tore through him. It knocked the very air from him, and for the first time he managed a scream. And then he felt weightless. Something was carrying him. Glancing upwards he noticed a familiar chin adorned with familiar facial hair, his head thudded against a familiar chest and he acknowledged the familiar strength that was carrying him as his boyfriends.

If he'd had the energy, he would have smiled.

…

Sometimes you just can't beat a bit of angst.


	9. Too Damn Much

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews I have been receiving, they really make my day! :D And I hope you enjoy!

…

"I'm sorry Tony."

Those three words shouldn't have bothered him as much as they did. It actually hurt to hear the trickster utter them. But maybe it hurt more because he could see just how much it hurt Loki to say it. Tears slowly trickled in thin rivulets down the pale, hollow cheeks, bruised eyes struggling to stay open. Tony stroked the inky hair slick with sweat and tried to calm the fevered man down. As soon as Loki had been admitted to the medical bay his breathing had grown more irregular and panicked and only settled into something like normality when Tony had climbed onto the narrow bed next to him, directly against the medics wishes.

It had worked though, for a little while.  
Although Tony had been forced to leave the room whilst they carried out a number of tests. Too many tests. And it didn't look like anyone was the wiser as to what the prankster's condition was. Stark had been shunted into the waiting area and seemed intent on wearing a groove into the floor with all his agitated pacing. He had distracted himself for a minute or two by calling Thor and filling him in on the situation. The thunder God had remained disturbingly silent all through the call. When Tony had finished the God had merely said "worry not" and told him he would be there immediately. It was only a few moments after Tony had hung up that he wondered why Thor's cool, collected tone had set him even more on edge.  
His phone shrilled from his pocket, nearly dropping the damn thing on the way to his ear he was only faintly surprised to hear Pepper asking for updates.  
"Pepper, not that I don't love the fact that you seemingly know everything that happens in my life, how did you even get wind of this? I've literally only just hung up on Thor, and not to discredit the guy, but I really doubt the first thing he'd think would be to call and update you." Pepper sighed down the phone, as if the answer should have been obvious, which in retrospect it was.  
"I have an understanding with the medical team that if anyone is admitted, no matter how minor the damage, they send me a message alerting me. It's standard procedure really, I'm sure I've told you all this before?"  
"Was I sober?"  
"Point taken. Anyway, I'm sending Bruce over to keep an eye on- for moral suppo- screw it, I'm sending him down to make sure you don't do something stupid. I wouldn't put it past you to tell the doctors they're doing their jobs wrong."  
"But Pepper, what if they are?"  
"Goodbye, Tony. I'm on my way, just hold out until then, Bruce should be along any minute. And please try not to do something stupid."

The call ended. And for a long moment afterwards Tony Stark wondered how that damn woman could know him so well. Sending Bruce over was a double-edged sword. On the one hand he'd keep Tony entertained and distracted, which he had to admit, he could probably do with right about now. On the flipside however, the potential rage machine would put himself directly between Stark and anyone with any authority. And even Tony knew better than to prod and shove a man quite capable of levelling a city whilst his partner was in the next room _possibly_ _dying_.  
Damn that woman.

He didn't deserve her.

It was another five minutes before Banner arrived and without giving Tony a chance to open his mouth he thrust a little, beige, plastic cup into his fellow scientists hands. Tony sniffed the contents warily. He couldn't smell any potential knock out drugs. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time he'd fallen for it. He took a hesitant sip before thanking the awkward looking man beside him, if this coffee was spiked he didn't care how strong his friend was, Banner would be walking out of this place green, black and blue. Letting the scalding liquid slide down his throat and giving it a minute he eventually accepted that it was just regular, crap coffee. He couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit disappointed.  
"How is he?" Bruce finally worked up the nerve to ask. Tony was about to snap something back when he noticed the other man wringing his hands together. A nervous tic. Banner was actually concerned?  
"He's… It's not good. Stupid doctors don't know a stupid damn thing about anything and Pepper expects me to just sit here and wait like an obedient little puppy when I should be doing something! But enough about me, how's life been for you Big n' Green?"  
"Do they have any idea what's-"  
"Nothing."  
"Have you told-"  
"Yeah, Thor's on his way. You got any other brain dead questions you want to get out of the way while we're at it?"  
Bruce shook his head.

Neither spoke again for a good long while. Tony paced and cursed, occasionally attempting to dent a wall or uproot a bolted down chair. The calmer scientist seated himself strategically in a chair between the door to the ward and the raging war machine, a manoeuvre that was not lost on the man of iron. Fisticuffs were not to be had however as somewhere else within the building a storm raged. The two genius' glanced at each other knowingly before turning towards the doors behind them. It didn't take a whole heap of grey matter to work out who this was.  
"Stark! I demand to see my brother."  
"What, no brotherly love for me?" Tony quipped, instantly regretting the words as they tripped off his tongue.  
"I will not ask again Stark." The blonde God rumbled, his voice dangerously close to a growl. Tony decided not to push his luck any further, instead mumbling something under his breath about demanding and asking being two very different things. Thor wisely chose to ignore this comment.  
Banner stepped back, he'd done his job, he only hoped Pepper would be along soon to clear up the carnage.

Between the two of them they managed to push past what seemed like every single medic on the planet to get to Loki. Tony died a little inside at the sight of his trickster hooked up to every conceivable piece of machinery possible. He looked even worse than when he'd been carried in. He didn't even look conscious.  
"Brother…" Thor whispered kneeling besides the bed, taking one of the delicate, pale hands and pressing it to his forehead.  
"Thor, do you have any idea what this is? Do you know how to fix this?"  
"It is not something that can be fixed, my brother is, for lack of a better word, broken. It is impossible for you or your men to mend him." The behemoth muttered darkly.  
Ignoring the height difference, pretending the wall of muscle wasn't a living, breathing God, Tony yanked the mourning giant from the bedside and grabbed him roughly by the collar. Pulling the blonde close enough so the light from the reactor illuminated his coarse jaw and burnt out eyes Tony tried desperately to ignore the fact that he was completely out of his depth here.  
"I will not accept that. You should know this by now. You've lived with me, fought with me, laughed with me and drunk with me. You should know damn well by now that nothing is impossible where I'm concerned. Impossible was getting your brother into bed, impossible was getting into an exclusive relationship with him, impossible was making him part of my family, impossible was making him believe that he wasn't insane and that he could be redeemed and it was completely fucking impossible to make the rest of the world love him like I do. But I did it. I did it all so don't you fucking dare tell me that I can't save him now." Stark spat, knuckles whitening around the Gods shirtfront.

Thor regarded the much shorter man coolly for a while, not a single line or whisker upon his face betraying his current thought process. It was unnerving. He stood slowly, giving Tony the chance to remove his hands before being dragged up too.  
"My brother is a very lucky man to have such a one as you by his side Stark, but it changes nothing. I will not lie to you, you deserve more respect from me than that. There is every possibility that Loki will never wake from this. I am truly sorry Tony, I wish there were something else I could tell you. I wish I had your ignorance, your stubbornness and I wish I were smart enough to be of use. But I can do none of these things and I have to remind myself that this is out of my hands. I pray that he will awaken and I pray that he is strong enough to overcome this illness because I do not know if I could stand to lose him again."

Tony tried to respond.  
He tried to say something scathing and sharp and cruel, he tried to say anything, but the words choked him.  
"What's wrong with him?" He croaked at last. The blue eyes that had regarded him so evenly a moment earlier now freely wept. The rest of the Gods face remained impassive, mouth set in a firm line and jaw locked into place. A thick, heavy hand squeezed the smaller mans shoulder gently. The reformed playboy turned his back on the affection, filling his mind instead with possible cures, stupid really, given that he didn't even know what was wrong with the troublemaker yet.  
"Everything that has ever been wrong with Loki has been bound up in magic. The root of all his powers, his fears and his dreams lies within his magic. It is everything to him. Well, almost everything." Thor conceded, offering the mortal a reconciliatory smile. "You have seen little of what my brother is truly capable of, some of his magic is beautiful and fantastic, some practical and dull. And then there is the other kind, the destructive kind. It was forbidden to learn this magic, but Loki never listened to what others told him not to do and learnt it anyway. He did not want the power nor the strength it would grant him, he just wanted to know how to do it. I think that is one of the things he greatly admires about you, Stark, your pursuit of knowledge. It is a trait he recognises all too well in himself.  
"I digress, this magic, it grants the caster terrible powers, but it is wild and feral. It will just as readily destroy the one who wields it as it would its target. The spell Loki tried to cast a few weeks previously, the serpent, that must have been what triggered his current condition. I cannot think of any other spells he would have used as strong as that one that could have done this."  
"It went wrong though." Tony interrupted. "It didn't work as it should, you think it was that mistake that did this to him?"  
"It wasn't the spell that was wrong; it is as much a part of him as your metal heart is to you. It is in his bones, his mouth recites the words as if they were written in front of him. The magic wasn't wrong, he was. His body was weak at the time. I doubt that nearly a year after his dealings with the Chitauri and all their foul influences, his subsequent imprisonment and escape combined with his… fragile mental state and his courting of you would be enough time to allow him to regain all of his… What was it Clint called it? His mojo?"

Tony stifled a laugh, but he'd be lying to himself if he pretended it wasn't mainly out of sheer frustration. This was just too much.  
"So you're saying that he wiped himself out, basically? That he's in some sort of magical coma thanks to evil aliens, your father locking him up and me? Well that's good to know." He snapped bitterly. Thor shot him a look that made the smaller man blanch.  
"You are probably the best thing that could have ever happened to Loki. You have saved him more times than you know. It is an honour to call you brother, Son of Howard, know this. But yes, you are correct enough. All we can do now is wait. But have faith. My brother is strong. And he has more tethering him to this world than I think even he realises."

Tony sighed, suddenly feeling much older than his years and wanting nothing more than to curl up besides his trickster and weep. But he wouldn't do that.  
He was Tony fucking Stark. And if he wasn't allowed to kill his boyfriend then he'd be damned if he'd let anything else even so much as try.

…

So many feels... !


	10. That Same Dull Ache

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: I am completely incapable of going any length of time without writing something that makes me want to die a little inside. On a plus: Double updates!

…

Something tore deep inside. Something tore and it _burned_.  
He wanted to scream and cry and hurt, he wanted everyone else to hurt like he did because in their shared pain he would never be alone. He ached. A familiar hollowness buried itself within the confines of his chest and though the feeling was familiar, it was far from welcome. Simultaneously an unbearable heat engulfed him, constantly prickling his tortured skin and scorching irritated eyes. It was maddening. Gnashing his teeth like some sort of wild animal it took the God several long breaths before he felt a little more like himself.  
And now he just had to work out where the hell he was and what the hell was happening.  
Wherever he was, he was alone. There were others, somewhere, on the periphery of his consciousness but never close enough to see. He heard them though, sometimes. To hell with them. They obviously weren't helping his current situation so why should he waste his time listening to their babbling.

So he was alone.

But that was ok, he could work with that.  
He was weak. That was something infinitely more troubling than his lack of companionship. Loki was not used to feeling quite so… inept. It worried him slightly. So he was isolated and weak, this was beginning to sound like one of his nightmares he wondered idly, losing his train of thought again. Damn it all to Hel. Clawing back his momentum, he pushed further with his observations. He also had no idea where he was, so he added lost to the list. He could safely assume however that it was neither Midgard nor Asgard.  
Shaking his head in frustration he tried to work his way back to the events leading up to his current predicament. He had been ill. He remembered that much. There had been a conflict of some sort. Something to do with-

Oh.

It was a small 'oh', but with it came all the damning memories of someone that he really shouldn't have been able to forget. The flood gates swung open and a torrent of memories all but drowned him. His friends, his brother, his home, his love.  
Tony Stark.  
How had he forgotten? The pain in his chest flared again at the mention of the name and he clutched at where his heart was supposed to be with trembling, desperate hands. A small cry escaped his throat, and it took all his might to suppress another.  
So; quick recap.

Alone. Weak. Lost. Stark.

He had to get back. But first he needed to know where he was supposed to be getting back from. Gritting his teeth, he raised his hands to his face, counting down the memories that might be of use on his fingers as he named them.  
Press Conference. _One_.  
Fought with Stark. _Two_.  
Moped around for a few days and ignored everything Stark related. _Three_.  
Disabled cameras, audio and J.A.R.V.I.S.' access to the bedroom. _Four_.  
Started feeling ill. _Five_.  
Wrote off sickness as nothing. _Six_.  
Too ill to move. _Seven_.  
Realised mistake. _Eight_.  
Wanted Stark back. _Nine_.  
Stark came back. _Ten_.  
… Nothing.

Shit.

So he was still sick? That would explain a lot. He was stuck inside his own subconscious. This was without a doubt, what Stark would refer to as a 'complete mind-fuck', he was certain of it. Still the problem remained: How to get out? Panic simmered beneath his assumed calm exterior. He was weak. If he had his magic he could try to jolt himself back into reality, but every time he tried to focus his energies the green tendrils seemed to slip through his grasping fingers. This was bad. He wished he could scream. He wished someone could hear him.  
He wished Tony were here.

" I think I've got it."  
"Tony?" Pepper asked, not bothering to mask her concern. It had been four long days since Thor and Tony had spoken by Loki's bedside. The elder God had maintained a constant vigil by his siblings side, never leaving the fading trickster for fear his faint grasp on life should slip further. Tony however had locked himself away in his lab, refusing entry to everyone bar Pepper when she arrived with a meal and a cup of coffee. He had taken to replying to her sparse questioning with incoherent grunts and disinterested waves of his hand, habits he appeared to have picked up from the mischief maker. It infuriated her when Loki did it, that Tony had started doing it too was enough to drive her insane.  
"What do you mean you think you've got it? Can you help Loki?" She demanded.  
"It's all about magic. He hasn't got enough of it, we know this. We also know that he needs more of it. Thor said it was up to Loki to save himself, but he's wrong. We can do something. We just need something with enough magical potential that can be channelled directly into Loki." Tony rambled, his hands whizzing across various holographs and hastily scrawled notes written across several screens hovering around him.  
"What do you need?"  
The genius paused, his fingers hesitating over a single line in a complex equation Pepper had no hope of deciphering.  
"I think… I thought of his staff at first. It's was filled with magic. Damn near overflowing with the stuff. But it's broken. I'm pretty sure Loki only kept- keeps it around as a reminder. And it's pretty. He likes pretty things. Makes you wonder what he sees in me eh? But no. The staff isn't enough. Thor's hammer, that's a thing too. But I don't think it's magical, not innately. It holds magic, magic is channelled through it, and that could be the catalyst, but it isn't the source. Fuck! We need something bigger, something better. Something… Asgardian." He spewed, pacing around the room, hands running through his hair he looked every inch the mad scientist. It wasn't a good look for him, but he didn't care anymore. "Pepper get Thor down here right now. And I don't want to hear it, because Loki isn't going anywhere. Tell him if he doesn't get down here this very second he'll be the reason that his brother dies."  
Pepper nodded, dumbstruck. She often marvelled at how her boss's often completely irrelevant tirades and bouts of verbal diarrhea would lead him to a breakthrough. But she never told him. It was beyond her, and she knew better than to question it, so bowing out of the room quickly she made her way to the medical bay.  
She was about to ask Thor to abandon his brother. She refused to do that over the phone.

Tears were spilled, goodbyes were said and she had him. Thor said nothing as they made their way quickly to Stark who was sat cross-legged on a desk sipping a generous helping of scotch when they arrived. Pepper flinched as she felt the heat of Thor's anger at Tony's too nonchalant demeanour.  
"What is this? I thought you had answers, man of iron!" The accusatory tone seemed to snap the billionaire from his reverie.  
"I do. But I'm going to need your help. Can you get hold of the tesseract?"  
Thor folded his arms, a faint scowl gracing his usually placid features.  
"My father has it locked away with all the other relics. I doubt I would be permitted to take it. Even for Loki."  
"No, you're missing the point." Tony snapped suddenly. "Not take, borrow. Taking only gets you so far, look at what it did to your brother. We just need to have it for a little while, just to give him a jump start. He doesn't even need to touch it. Come on, Thor. If you don't do this he _will_ die. And it'll be on _your_head." The usually collected man yelled, his knuckles whitening as his grip on the tumbler full of scotch tightened painfully. Thor seemed too shocked to respond before sadly shaking his head. He opened his mouth to reply but was cut off abruptly as Tony leapt to his feet. Shattering his drink against the table, shards of glass burying themselves deep within his calloused fingertips, Stark ignored the blood and the stinging sensation the slivers left behind as he rounded on the God.

"Open your fucking eyes Thor! Your brother is dying! He did something monumentally stupid and it could cost him his life. That stupid thing he did by the way? That was saving our lives, he is not the bad guy any more. He doesn't deserve to die like this. He didn't deserve a lot of the things that were done to him and sure as hell deserves a lot more than I can give him. But if it's one thing I can do it's at least give him the chance to try and kill me all over again for being the source of his constant migraine. You have to at least try. Please?" His diatribe ended on a pleading note, and he couldn't care less. If it meant getting down on his knees and begging he would gladly do it.  
He was too tired to be proud.  
He just wanted his God back, and if that meant grovelling across these supposed Nine Realms then he'd invest in a decent pair of shin pads and get on with it.

"I will try. I promise you that much, Stark." Thor managed meekly before turning to leave.  
"Thank you." Tony called after him, and he meant it. Glancing down at his mangled fingers, a fresh wave of pain breaking over him, he slammed his fists down on the desk swiping all the remnants of work from it before collapsing to his knees. Thor had already gone. He wouldn't waste any time, but that didn't stop the God of Thunder from looking back at a friend in the depths of despair and invoking the higher powers that be to look over him. There was so much riding on this, so much riding on him, he thought as he made his way to the roof.  
A bitter wind lashed his at his golden hair as he stepped into the pre-dawn. Lifting Mjolnir high above his head, he was about to call to Heimdall when a loud squawking caught his attention. Two large ravens stared at him curiously and Thor couldn't help but smile.  
Father was watching over them.  
And then the sky parted and he was falling. As he tore through space and time and everything in between he held onto the fleeting hope that maybe everything would work out in the end.

Somewhere far away, on a lonely little planet named both Midgard and Earth respectively, two men screamed for each other. Their desperation amplified by the thin thread of life that one of them clung dearly to. The tragedy was that should one die, it was inevitable the other would quickly follow.

…

Apologies to anyone reading these chapters if you find any grammatical errors or nonsense, I write these usually at about 2 in the a.m. and right now it's three minutes past eight in the morning and I haven't slept yet. So apologies in advance!


	11. Kick Start

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: That last chapter got over 200 views in less than a day, I am legit proud :D Keep up the good work guys ;)

…

Feet collided unsteadily with a strangely solid ground as the world began to fall into place around him. Glancing behind just in time to see the portal collapse in on itself, the Bifrost never ceased to amaze him. Shaking his head in wonder, he strode past Heimdall who nodded to him in acknowledgment. The gatekeeper saw all, and was presumably well aware of Loki's current situation, though he said nothing but a clipped greeting as Thor made his way onto the bridge.  
A rider-less horse awaited him. Anxiety bubbled in the pit of the Gods stomach. This was a diplomacy run, something Thor had always let his brother handle when they were younger. He tried to quell the gnawing doubt that threatened to break his other wise iron clad resolve.

"My son. It is good to see you again, though I wish it could have been under more pleasant circumstances." Odin greeted as Frigga wrapped her arms around her towering son, fussing over him like any normal, doting mother would. For the first time in what felt like forever, Thor felt some of the tension he'd been carrying around ease slightly. Finally his mother pulled away, holding him at arms length her mouth forming a thin, worried line, a thousand questions racing through her head.  
"How bad is he, Thor, truly?" She asked, her voice barely reaching above a whisper.  
"If we don't do something soon, Stark is adamant he will die. I did not want to believe that Loki could ever become so… so helpless, but I see now that I was wrong." Thor sighed, a deep rumbling sigh that betrayed so many of his feelings. Had the man of iron not been so stubborn and unrelenting Thor would have never allowed himself to believe that Loki could be beaten by his own body. This was not the time to dwell on such matters however, he had a job to do.  
"Father, I believe you already know what I would ask of you, will you lend me the tesseract so that I may save my brother?" He asked, trying to force the hesitation from his voice. Odin regarded his eldest son in silence. He had known, of course, what Thor would come asking for. He also knew that Thor would probably attempt to seize the tesseract by force if Odin were to refuse his request and should he choose to walk that path, his son could not possibly hope to succeed.  
Despite everything Loki had done, all the pain, suffering and fear he had wrought across not one but three worlds, both Odin and Frigga still loved the Jotun born as dearly as their own. He was their child. He always would be. No matter how many atrocities he committed, they would never disown him. And yet, against all the odds, he had proven over the course of a few Midgardian seasons that there was still room in his heart for change. Of course, during the years that he had spent stewing within a cell here on Asgard some had remarked upon a subtle change within their wayward son then, though none knew the reason for it. Odin was beginning to suspect however that it could all be traced back to a certain man.  
"Tell me," He began slowly "what is it about this Iron Man that has your brother so enthralled. What is this man like, I have seen a little of him through the eyes and ears of my ravens and he is… Not what I would have called an ideal match." Odin stated maintaining an even, stern tone that he had long ago mastered whilst trying to raise two unruly Godlings. He noted silently the faintest appearance of fondness flicker across his sons unusually haggard features before the warrior spoke.

"He is abrasive, crude, foulmouthed and immeasurably wealthy, he is also a genius, scientist and engineer. He torments Loki on a daily basis and expects Loki to do the same back; they fight regularly, play pranks on and insult each other. Stark was known as the Merchant of Death for a while though now he is celebrated as a hero. Both share the same passions and similar nightmares. Stark has suffered greatly during his life and understands Loki better than even us I would wager. My brother opens up to him, confides in him and covets him. I have never before seen him this happy. You cannot allow him to die now, not after he has finally found what he has been searching for! Please father, if you refuse me this you end not one but two lives."  
"You would vouch for this man then? You would trust him not only with the life of your brother, but with the lives of all Loki's potential victims should he turn back to the path of darkness?" Odin asked with a heavy heart. That mortal man had no idea how much rested on his shoulders, should he and Loki part ways, the fallout from the trickster Gods broken heart would likely rip their planet asunder. But this was his son. He was a good boy deep down. Odin knew it.  
"Maybe my judgement falters now that I am old and weak or perhaps it is that I have grown soft in my twilight years… But I cannot sit idly by while one of my own suffers needlessly. Loki served much of his sentence here on Asgard before fleeing and I fear that locking him away again now may undo much of the good that living on Midgard has done for him. I believe what you say about this man of iron, that he may be the only thing to pull Loki back from the brink of whatever madness it was that seized him. I pray that they will be happy with this life they has chosen. Now go, save your brother and put an end to all this misery. Farewell my boy, may the Gods guide you." The AllFather barked, a grin slowly creeping its way across his grizzled face. Frigga embraced Thor once more, crushing him to her tightly, like she never wanted to let go.  
"You tell him to be good Thor, and make sure he's eating well. Tell him I love you both so much and I am so proud of him. When you return the tesseract you must bring him along too, and I would very much like to meet this Tony Stark that I have heard so much about. Oh and tell him Sleipnir misses his mummy! Speaking of children, am I to expect the pitter-patter of litt-"  
"Mother!" Thor roared with laughter, I will tell him all these things, I promise! But I must make haste else I will have no-one to give your message to. I love you, be safe." The blonde replied with an easy smile, the weight of the world slipping from his broad shoulders as he left the great hall safe in the knowledge that he had a cure.

How do you use a hammer as a fucking catalyst? Tony slammed his head against an almost empty desk. Why had he promised that Loki wouldn't even need to touch that stupid blue box in the first place? Oh yeah, because he'd been running on autopilot. Again. Rubbing his face angrily with the flats of his hands he stomped around the room, a whirlwind of exhaustion and misplaced energy until a shuddering crash from the roof pulled him out of his temper. Racing to meet the God he wasted no time in dragging him to the medical bay, ignoring the blondes words, not trusting the burlier man to make his way without getting lost first. After charging blindly into Loki's room, displacing any medic still lingering around with possibly more force than necessary, Tony ground to a halt.  
He had no idea what to do now.  
"Stark, what is the plan?" Thor boomed impatiently. Tony knuckled his brow and began pacing again, his eyes never leaving the glowing blue box Thor had tucked under one gigantic arm.  
"See now, that's kind of a problem. Well, more of a non-issue really. I have no idea. If we just place the tesseract in Loki's hands we could end up killing him. We just want to jolt him, not fry him. You aren't particularly magically inclined, so it's not like we can use you to channel it… The hammer is still an option, but how would we- Hold that thought." Stark ended abruptly before whipping out a phone and tapping with lightening speed across its screen. Tony caught Thor's glare as he made to place his phone back in his pocket.  
"Ah right, the plan. You're going to have to trust me on this one, can you do that big guy?" He asked in the least patronizing voice he could muster, patting the bemused God on the forearm. The genius had barely had chance to thank the God for his little trip back home when a door slammed open behind them, causing both men to leap a mile in the air. Banner stood leaning against the doorframe, panting heavily, a thick, metal toolbox clutched tightly in his arms.  
"Took you so long? You science types really need to get out more." Tony quipped as he relieved Bruce of the ridiculously heavy container.  
"Say that again when I've got my breath back, I dare you." His science buddy wheezed. "So you have a plan then?" He followed up with, trying to regain some composure.  
"Plan is maybe a little too… _stable_ for what this is. Think of it more as improvisation!" The shorter man beamed, deftly unlocking the box and pulling out several long cables. "Now Thor if you could kindly hold your weapon out for me. You might need both hands. If Loki could hear me now I'd already be dead."  
"I do not see what your euphemisms have to do with bringing my brother back man of iron." Thor deadpanned. Tony ignored Bruce's squawking in the background and began attaching the cables so they connected the tesseract to Mjolnir. The wires had already begun sparking as Tony affixed the last lead.  
"Tony..."  
"Sup Bruce? Genius at work over here, can it wait?"  
"Are those jumper leads?" The fellow scientist asked, not quite believing what he was seeing. Tony grinned toothily in response. "He isn't a car for Christ sake!"  
"Actually, in this scenario, a car is a very good metaphor for exactly what he is. He's a car with a dead battery and he needs a jump start. And I am the dashing mechanic who has come to his rescue. Now Thor, shoot your brother!" Tony cried cheerfully, the sparks from the hammer casting manic shadows to dance across his beaming face.  
"Have you lost your mind Stark! Why would I-"  
"It's not lightening anymore, not really, it's _magical lightening_ imbued with the power from the tesseract, though it's probably not as powerful as we'd like because I'm using jumper cables instead of something that's actually efficient. Now hurry up and blast him!"  
"Won't it hurt him?"  
"Probably, but he'll blame me for it anyway so don't worry about it. Now come on!" Tony yelled growing impatient. The God of Thunder gripped Mjolnir tightly, gritting his teeth together and apologising loudly before a blinding flash of light and an ear splitting crack erupted from the weapon, striking the immobile God directly in the chest.  
Emerald eyes shot open as the liesmith bolted upright, the sudden burst of energy piercing his skin, hauling him unceremoniously from his own subconscious. He re-entered the mortal realm trying to ignore them stench of his own burning flesh. He didn't even realise it was him doing the shrieking and screaming whilst his back arched and his limbs spasmed as jolt after jolt of energy burned through him. Without thinking, Thor yanked Mjolnir away from the jumper cables, the flare of wild magic dying on the air.  
Loki blinked dumbly before remembering to breathe. And then he turned to look at his three saviours, swinging his legs gingerly over the edge of the bed. None of the men moved a muscle at first, the incomprehensible expression on the mischief makers face potentially hiding murderous intentions. They watched as the frail man climbed uncertainly to his feet, like a newly born foal learning to stand for the first time. Bruce stepped over to Thor and tapped the giant on the arm lightly, beckoning him out of the room.

The door clicked shut and Stark was on him, crushing their lips together, laughing as their skin tingled and fizzed with the after-burn of residual magic. Breathing heavily, a ragged mixture of relief and exhaustion Loki cackled wildly as his feet left the ground, the smaller man hugging him tightly around the waist spinning him round in dizzying circles until they collapsed on the bed in a breathless ecstasy. Pulling Stark closer, Loki cradled his head against the others neck, wrapping his arms tightly around the broad chest before diving in for another kiss.  
"Thank you." He whispered as he reluctantly pulled away for air. The scientist nuzzled at a spot of soft, pale skin just beneath his lovers ear, earning a husky moan from the slender man bound up in his arms.  
"You can thank me later princess." Stark mumbled quietly, noting the flicker of amusement play across the grimacing face. They remained that way for a while longer before Tony suggested they move out of the ward.  
"You're still weak. You need rest, I need rest, we should rest together. Don't you think? Besides, I really don't want to deal with people right now I could do without having to explain to Pepper why I had to get Thor to shoot you-"  
"Wait, what? How dare-!"  
"- when all I really want is to lavish you with finery and pretty things and spoil you rotten." The billionaire recovered quickly. That silenced the trickster for a while.  
"Ok. Well I suppose we can discuss your coercing of my brother to violate me whilst I was in a coma at a later date." Loki mused, letting his mind wander back to a rather fetching scarf he had recently seen. Closing his eyes, the trickster rolled onto his side and began idly tracing meaningless shapes across the other mans arms.

He didn't have to worry now about never waking up again because he was safe here, he was wanted. And for the moment, that was enough to ease him to sleep.

…

Happy timez :B


	12. Oh Shit Son

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: Shit son. He's gone and done it now.

…

Tony didn't have the heart to disturb him, not right away. He let the other man sleep a while, content to just sit and watch the steady rise and fall of the slightly concave chest. Shifting slightly under the weight of his partner, the sudden movement caused Loki to stir, mumbling something unintelligible before stretching out slowly. Seeing this as his chance, the scientist slid from under the sleepy God and gave him a prod.  
"Come on you, the sooner we get out of here the sooner you can crash." His only response was a weary groan as the mischief maker tried to roll over, Tony gave the God another nudge only to be ignored again. "I suppose I could just go and get Thor. I'm sure he's been just dying to come in here and give his precious little brother a great big hug!"  
"By the Nine Stark I'm getting up! People call me the God of Evil, but you're a bigger bastard than I could ever dream of being." The liesmith snarled half heartedly.  
"Well now that you're up, what's say we retire to the bedroom my darling?" Tony charmed, leaping up and extending an arm graciously to his slightly incapacitated boyfriend. Loki struggled to drag himself into a sitting position, nibbling lightly on his lower lip as he weighed up whether his legs would actually be up to supporting him again. Without needing to be asked the fatigued scientist grabbed the God and threw him over a shoulder, noting silently that Loki didn't even bother to fight back.  
"You know, thanks to whatever little stunt it was you pulled back there I appear to have some amount of magic left at my disposal. And I don't much fancy being paraded around like an invalid." The green eyed man hinted.  
"It was pride that got you into this mess in the first place." Tony chided lightly. He could practically feel the God rolling those emerald eyes behind his back.  
"Fine. Whatever Stark, just be quick about it then."  
"Still with the 'Stark' thing?" He muttered, only just loud enough for his passenger to hear as he made his way off the ward. He waved his two friends away as they lingered impatiently in the waiting room flashing them one of his dazzling 'you thank me later' grins as he passed them by. He tried to ignore the sharp pang of guilt when he saw Banner leading a forlorn looking Thor away. The thunder giant would have been dying to check on his brother, but he could tell that Loki was hardly in the mood to be dealing with the bundle of unbridled energy and joy that was his older sibling. He'd give Thor a ring later, giving him a full update and make arrangements for him to see the irritable immortal tomorrow.

Tony didn't realise just how tired he was until the elevator doors slid shut, jabbing at the buttons with his free hand he let out a long, relieved breath.  
"I think you can put me down now, I appear to have regained some feeling in my legs." A muffled voice said. Carefully sliding the distressingly light body from his shoulder, the inventor looped an arm through one of Loki's, pulling him close when he felt the other beginning to lean too far.  
"You must have been under a lot of stress for things to have gotten as bad as they did."  
Green eyes cast a sidelong glance at the shorter man, pointedly ignoring the question within the statement. Tony began to fidget, hating how his tongue felt the need to wag when he didn't want it to. He was saved from delving into pitiful small talk however when the frailer body leaned into him.  
"It wasn't your fault you know. I kept pushing myself, and I felt so good for a while that I forgot what it was like to be truly exhausted. When they took me away from this planet gagged and chained I was drained, then when they locked me away I spent most of my time trying to regain my strength. All this means is that I need to remember to focus more of my time on regaining my power, so as much as I want to, I think it would be in all of our best interests if I held back from the next few missions. Don't you think agree man of iron?" Tony laughed a little, nodding his head in agreement. "I suppose that's something else to thank you for now that I think about it." The God continued, his mind wandering off onto another little tangent. "When they locked me away they put me in a cell that negates magic. It was… Infuriating, to say the least. Slowly though, I managed to chip away at their counter spells, bit by bit enabling me to use more and more magic at a time. That's when I first started visiting you."  
"I remember the first time you let one of your clones run around the tower. I thought J.A.R.V.I.S. had gone mad when he started telling me you were sitting on my roof at half five in the morning. And yet there you were."  
"There I was." The sorcerer muttered softly. "You know, to this day I still have no idea why my 'clone' appeared there. Perhaps I was drawn to it was because that was where I was humiliated the most or maybe because that was the point where my plans began to fall apart. Maybe even because I knew that place was yours. You intrigued me like no other Stark. I think I wanted to know more about you. I hardly doubt I turned up just for the view, although that sunrise certainly was something. I have often wondered why didn't you turn me away or call your team."  
"I dunno either. Truth be told, curiosity got the better of me. You stood up and walked right through me, I knew it was just a clone. And then I wanted to know more. And we just talked. Then you disappeared, and I thought 'well hey that was weird', but there was nothing I could do about it. You told me that you were in prison and Thor confirmed that, and then you said you could only see the world through those projections. It seemed… harmless. Then you just kept on showing up. I'd drink and you'd talk and I'd make a snappy retort and you'd come back with something equally as venomous and brilliant. I liked it. It felt right."  
"And then I tried to kiss you, forgetting that I had no form. I thought I had ruined everything. I saw the look on your face and screamed so loudly in my cell on the other side of the universe that the guards from the hall thought I'd tried to kill myself. But you didn't turn me away. You still didn't turn me away. And then I think I knew why I'd come back. It felt like home."  
"Home? Really? I mean, you must have only spent in total of a couple of weeks here if you tallied up all the hours we spent chatting. How could you feel so strongly about a place after such an insignificant amount of time?"  
Loki snorted.  
"Do you know how long I was imprisoned for? A century. Well, that was my sentence, but I broke out the day before I was due to be released. That's 36,524 days in captivity. And all those times I appeared down here was the only release I had from my incarceration. I don't know what I'd have done if you hadn't kept me around. So yes, this place felt like home. Home is where you believe that you belong, is it not? This was the only place in the universe that made me feel that way."

Tony startled at that. These were not the sorts of things you expected to hear during an elevator ride on the way to bed. What the hell was wrong with his life?

"I'm sorry, Tony."  
"Babe you have nothing to be sorry for. And it's nice to know you remember my first name, I was beginning to think you'd forgotten."  
"I love you."

…

"What?"

Stark spun the trickster until they were stood face to face, the God looked equal parts anguished and horrified, as if he'd just stuck his arm into a bear trap and not expected it to snap shut.  
"What the fuck do you mean 'WHAT' Stark?" Loki snapped, his words reaching almost hysterical levels, Tony hadn't even thought the liesmiths voice capable of hitting those pitches. There was one for the books. The frailer of the two tried to pull away, the skin on skin contact apparently burning him, but the man of iron held fast to the struggling wrists.  
"Say it again."  
"What?"  
"Now who's asking stupid questions? Say it again."  
"I- I love you. I think."  
"You wanna try that again without the hesitation?"  
"Fuck you, Tony Stark! If there were a window here right now I'd throw you straight out of it, again! But then I would probably have to attempt to resolve the situation by salvaging your pathetic excuse of a mortal existence because _I love you_." The silver tongue snapped, a flush rising in his cheeks, his arms no longer begging to be released.  
"That was quite possibly the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me." The superhero joked, a wide grin spread across his face.  
"Kiss me right now you damned idiot before I crush the very life from you."  
"If I don't, will you use your thighs like in that film we wat-"  
Teeth clashed together painfully as the God locked lips with the too chatty mortal, effectively silencing the smaller man. Tony took this opportunity to wrap his arms around the thinner man, his hands slowly sliding up and under the loose shirt until they rested on the narrow waist. Loki's breath hitched before abruptly breaking off the kiss.  
"Stark, would you care to explain to my why this elevator isn't moving?"  
"Ah right, yes. I should probably press some buttons or something."  
I saw you do that though, I saw you press the buttons. What trickery is this?"  
"Well you saw me press something, I just locked the doors."  
"Why. Tony. Just, _why_?"  
"You started talking. I wanted to listen."  
"Oh… Bastard."

When the doors re-opened, the two spilled out of the machine in a flurry of groping hands and passionate kisses. Making their way almost blindly into the bedroom, Tony began stripping his clothes off as Loki dived onto the bed. After finishing his rapid disrobing, standing there in all his naked glory, the engineer groaned quietly at the now snoring figure splayed out on the bed. He tried not to let the experience dent his ego any. Pulling on his boxers again he slid into the bed besides the lanky figure and pulled the covers over them, wrapping an arm around the other mans shoulders.  
"It's a damn good job I love you Reindeer Games." He muttered, closing his eyes, letting the exhaustion take over.  
He didn't notice the small smile that lit up his lovers face as the words left his mouth.

…

Naw :3 It's amazing what you can type up whilst you're being crushed under an impressive amount of rage.


	13. Staff Envy

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: I thought you guys could do with something a little more light hearted :') Also lemme know how you guys think things are going, I worry sometimes :B

…

"So what you're like, mad at me or something?" A voice drawled from somewhere behind him. Loki started, almost spilling the tea he'd just paid for. The taller man frowned as an arm snaked its way around his waist, leading him out of the coffee place.  
"I'm not mad at you Stark, I just went for a walk." He replied with an even tone, his face remaining blank. The engineer however didn't deem that as a suitable response and pulled the other man closer as they turned out of the door and onto the street. Despite having his arm around his partner he let Loki lead the way, wherever that was. Probably somewhere quiet and dark, the perfect place for a murder if his current line of questioning was anything to go by.  
"Is it about your book?"  
"It is not about the book, although I would very much appreciate it if you didn't insist on using them as placemats. Or oil rags."  
"The explosion this morning? Because I swear I had all the calculations down, I mean, aside from bit that was flawed, obviously."  
"It wasn't the explosion either. Funnily enough I am more than used to being woken up at odd hours during the night thanks to your reckless inventing."  
"Doesn't stop you being any less pissy about it." Loki glared at that one, pulling his scarf a little tighter around his neck.  
"I do not get 'pissy' as you so eloquently put it. And no, that's not it."  
"Oh so you admit there is something that's got you all hot and bothered? Wait, it wasn't the helmet was it? Because you know that wasn't even really my-"  
"For the love of… No. It has nothing to do with my helmet. The dents will buff out I'm sure and I'm positive you can bend the horns back into shape. It isn't anything to do with you, now please just let me enjoy my walk Tony." The green eyed man sighed, folding his arms across his chest defensively. The man of iron bit back his next question, Loki had used his first name, a sign that more often han not indicated that the liesmith was being honest with him. Well, as honest as a God of Lies could get at any rate. Somehow the two ended up at a park, he cocked an eyebrow at the God who tried his best to focus on his still warm tea. Taking a slow sip, he seemed intent on continuing his sabotaged outing in silence. Though he knew the big mouth still clinging to him would soon put a stop to that. He'd put money on it.

"So are you going to tell me what's wrong or are we upping this game of twenty questions to a hundred? I can just keep going all day and there's only so much park left to walk through before you're going to have to think of somewhere else to wander, and whilst you're thinking of where to run off to next I'll still be talking and-"  
"If I tell you what it is, will you please shut up and go away afterwards?" The trickster interrupted brusquely, his patience quickly wearing thin. Tony nodded happily and Loki was almost certain that this was all just some little game to his lover.  
Steering them to a nearby bench overlooking a large, perfectly serene pond the taller of the two sat down, wrapping his black trench coat around him to ward off the chill in the air. Tony threw himself onto the freezing bench besides him and wrapped an arm around the scarf clad shoulders. Taking another sip of tea Loki grimaced into the cup as he reluctantly swallowed the now lukewarm dregs. Crossing his legs, he raised his green eyes stared out over the pond before them, never leaving the pristine waters for a second. Nothing but the quacking of ducks and faraway remnants of conversations punctuated their amiable silence.  
Sensing something was genuinely bothering the one time villain, Tony took one of the smoother hands into his own, rubbing his thumb gently over the back of the pale hand. Some of the tension in the others shoulders seemed to melt and he let out another long breath, this one sounded more defeated than annoyed however, and Stark just knew he should have brought that lonely looking bottle of whiskey with him.

"I miss Asgard." The God muttered eventually, bitterness clinging to his every word.  
"You say that like it's a bad thing? It was your home, you have family there. It'd be stranger for you not to miss something about it." Tony tried to reassure, his grip tightening ever so slightly.  
"But the things they did to me, the things I did to them in retaliation. I can not return now, I have burned, or rather helped destroy those bridges. They do not wish for me to return either, and I have little reason to blame them after everything that has transpired." He lamented, his gaze still affixed to the clear waters. Tony snickered, shaking the shoulders of the other until he was met with a scrutinizing stare. "Care to enlighten me as to which part of my last sentence you found so amusing?"  
"Babe, you are so dense sometimes it hurts." Ignoring Loki's affronted expression he took the chance to elaborate. "Thor told you what your mother said before he left Asgard, they asked specifically for you to return with your brother and myself. And I'll admit, the thought terrifies me a bit, as difficult as you might find this to believe, I don't often make the best impressions on peoples parents. But I'll try this time, promise." He said, leaning over to plant a kiss on the faintly red, aquiline nose. It wrinkled at the sudden contact, but the other man made no move to pull away from it.  
"I do not doubt Frigga would wish for me to return, for all intents and purposes she is my mother. And she has always worried about me. I used to resent her affection almost as much as I craved it, though now I understand that her fears were not entirely unfounded. Regardless, I hardly doubt Odin will be overjoyed at my return, nor the citizens of Asgard. I was a prince, I had everything I could have ever wanted and I threw it all away. Do you think the people would ever forgive someone who had been handed everything he could have ever dreamt of on a royal platter, a Frost Giant no less, and watch as that same stupid prince destroyed it all? They are justified in their hatred of me and I see no reason to change their opinions."  
"That is quite possibly the stupidest thing I have ever heard you say. And believe me, you've had your moments darling. You really think they hate you that much? When they thought you had died they mourned you. They saw something in you that they thought had disappeared for good and they wept for it. An entire people, Loki! Feelings like that don't just disappear, just look at Thor! If anyone had reason to hate you for a while it was him, but he didn't give up on you did he? Hell, that man petitioned the King of the Gods on your behalf not so long ago. Your father didn't have to save you, remember that. The least you can do is go and thank him. Or maybe don't thank him, because he did majorly fuck you over before that, but you can at least go and rub his face in what you have now. You're the one that's come out on top in everything but the bedroom, so whaddya say? Let me meet your parents." Tony shouted animatedly, his arms flung into the air like some sort of pre-emptive celebration. Loki shuddered as the sudden warmth left his shoulders, shuffling closer to the mass of heat that was his rather energetic partner. Tapping a finger against his lips the joker seemed deep in though, though Tony was sure it was all just for show.  
"It has been such a long time since I last saw Sleipnir, and I do miss him greatly." He confessed a while later, finger still tapping away at his mouth.  
"So it's settled then! Now, how many people do you think I can piss off on Asgard before they throw me out and also, what is the acceptable amount to flirt with your mother? It's all in the execution. Come on man! Lives, specifically mine, depend on it." He was rewarded with an outpouring of laughter, as sweet a trill as ever there was one. It lifted his shiny, metal heart a little to hear it, the trickster had been more subdued than usual in the few weeks since recovering from his magic induced coma. Tony grinned, pressing a sloppy kiss onto the pale cheek beside him.

"Come now, my delicate wallflower, dinner at an outrageously expensive restaurant beckons us. I may even allow you to escort me to a flashy bar later. Gods only know I've missed watching you try to dance to the top forty."  
"I'll have you know Stark that my skanking remains unparalleled in both realms."  
"Do you know what, to hell with the dinner, let's head straight for the bar."  
"Tony," The God chuckled, "It's three in the afternoon, hardly the time for a rave."  
"Bitch I'm a star, wherever I go the party follows. Just you wait and see." He retorted, pulling the other man to his feet, practically dragging him back through the park. Loki allowed himself to be escorted back to the streets where a sleek, red convertible already awaited them.  
"How long have you been plotting this dear?" He asked, his lips curling upwards as the shorter man swung his legs over the door and into the drivers seat.  
"Plotting? My life is permanently in a stage of pre-shindig preparations. I don't plan for parties. There's a spare change of clothes under your seat by the way, I thought you might be more comfortable in those.  
"And where am I supposed to get changed into these pray tell?"  
"Why here in the car of course? Don't tell me you're getting all shy on me now."

Loki barked a laugh and slid out of his coat, pulling his shirt over his head before tugging the one Tony had supplied over his head.  
"Stark industries. Really?"  
"It was that or the Iron Man one."  
"You sure know how to spoil a girl Tony."  
It was the scientists turn to snicker.  
"J.A.R.V.I.S. send a message to my team mates will you? Tell them to assemble at that club we go to sometimes, you know the one, link them anyway, and tell them there are some dastardly shots that need to be defeated awaiting their arrival. Thanks." The car hummed in response before announcing the process complete. Tony turned around just in time to catch Loki trying to wriggle into a pair of tight fitting jeans from the safety of his car seat.  
"Hey J.A.R.V.I.S. do I have any security cams still set up in this car?"  
"Security cams sir? Oh I see what you mean and yes you do as a matter of fact." Came the AI's response from the dashboard.  
"Don't get fresh with me J.A.R.V.I.S. but just forward the last five minutes of footage to the others to show them we're getting ready and we're on our way. Don't send it to Thor though. Actually yes, send it to Thor. And Director Fury. Then quickly send him a message apologising. That will be all."  
"J.A.R.V.I.S. I demand you stop what you are doing at once!" Loki yelled, abandoning his attempts at zipping up his pants.  
"I apologise Mr Odinson/Laufeyson but the messages have already been sent."

Pressing his hands to his face the God snarled something into his palms.  
"Calm down sweet thing. At least you were wearing underwear this time. You were wearing underwear, right?"  
"…At least all those comments about my staff being used to overcompensate for something will be rendered null from now on."  
Tony slammed on the brakes, oblivious to the angry calls from other drivers blurring around him.  
"Oh God. I just sent porn to your brother."  
"Revenge is sweet, is it not lover?" The trickster sung, giving the doomed inventor a peck on the cheek.  
Tonight was going to be painful, Tony was sure of it.

…

;) Sneaky sneaky.


	14. What The Shit

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: So sorry about the time it's taken to do this chapter, I've had a really busy week! D: To make up for it, here's two chapters! :B

…

Something was making noise.  
It was not a pleasant noise.  
Peeling his face from a slightly damp pillow, Tony tried to lift his head. A sudden dizzying nausea however forced him to remain horizontal, instead he groped blindly for his phone until he managed to locate the incessant ringing. Remaining on his side with the phone balancing on his ear he groaned into the receiver.

"Check the news. Fury is going to bust a nut when he sees."  
"Who even is this?" The cripplingly hung over engineer moaned. A light snore from his left forced him to lower his voice a little, if Loki felt anywhere near as bad as he did this morning Tony did not want to be the one to wake him. And oh Gods it was actually morning. The clock flashed 10:49. In the A.M.  
"It's Steve. Listen, this is actually quite bad, you should probably get Loki up too, we've all got some serious grovelling to do when Fury gets a hold of us."  
"Steve, why do you sound like you've been gargling glass? And no way in hell am I waking Loki up, the longer I can avoid dealing with a hung over God the better!"  
"Are you even listening to what I'm telling you? This is bad. And if you won't wake him up I will."  
"Well, before you do that just give me two minutes."  
"Two minutes to do what?" The Super Soldier questioned, trying to ignore his growing headache.  
"2 minutes for me to get the hell out of here." Tony whispered before hanging up on the slightly bemused Captain. Powering through the rising sickness as he hauled himself out of the bed he tried desperately to put one foot in front of the other as quickly and silently as humanly possible. He had just made it to the couch when he heard a screeching from the next room.  
"I couldn't care any less if it were Ragnarok Rogers. I am NOT getting up and I am NOT dealing with any of you mortal cretins today."  
The genius cringed at the thought of Cap having to deal with this, but then mentally congratulated himself on getting the hell out of dodge in time.  
"Don't you dare try to call me back because I will personally see to it that your life will not be worth living you augmented waste of flesh and bone."  
There was a hated it when someone managed to shut the silver tongue up for any length of time.  
It usually meant bad news for him.  
"Tony did what now? Oh, he did, did he? I see. So be it."

The engineer tried to make it apparent that he wasn't hiding behind the couch and using it as a barrier at the same time. Then he realised that he was dating a God and with horrifying clarity it dawned on him that a couch would do little against a hung-over otherworldly being. In a single bound he made it to the kitchen and attempted to look nonchalant.  
"Stark. I have just had a very interesting conversation with Mr Rogers, and he said something about you being afraid to wake me up. Why would that be _lover_." Loki spat, venom dripping from a tongue that sounded a little thicker than usual.  
"Oh you're awake gorgeous? I was just about to make br-"  
"Enough! Stark. What made you think I would appreciate being uprooted by Captain fucking America more so than being woken up by you?"  
"In my defence, you are truly terrifying when hung-over. And I didn't think you had to be woken, it's nothing you should have to deal wi-"  
"You're damn right it was nothing I should have been disturbed over, what the shit is wrong anyway? What have you done now?"  
Tony sighed and rubbed his face distractedly with one hand, beckoning to the TV with the other, tacitly noting that Clint must be rubbing off on his boyfriend if Loki had begun using 'what the shit' as an everyday insult. It was a deeply disturbing notion and one that he refused to dwell on.  
"Capsicle said something about the news. We done goofed, apparently. Fury's gonna be breathing down our necks too any minute. I suppose we should at least find out whatever it is that we're supposed to have done." He shrugged, wandering over to switch the news on.

What they saw was definitely not good. So far removed from good in fact, it was actually pretty dire. He noted his partners jaw drop from his peripheral. Tony sank back into the couch and turned the volume up, acknowledging the God slowly seating himself besides him by placing a hesitant hand on the pale thigh. They stared in horror at the carnage flickering across the screen. Loki grasped the hand on his thigh, his brow knitted in confusion and a muddle of other emotions.  
"Is that-?"  
"Yes."  
"Is he-?"  
"Looks like it."  
"What am I doing with th-"  
"Three wild guesses."  
"Tony… I remember nothing of this."  
The scientist allowed a lone 'ha!' to escape his bone dry mouth before turning to look at the ashen faced man by his side.  
"We could make it to my Malibu place in an hour, two tops, definitely less if we take the suit. What do you say?" He asked, watching the God swallow an imaginary lump.  
"I'll start packing."  
"No time, we have everything we'll need there. Spare clothes, coffee machine, bar, we're covered." Loki grunted at that and clambered uncertainly to his feet. He shivered suddenly, only just aware that he was clad in nothing but his boxers. Waving a hand across himself casual day clothes materialised around his aching frame. Glancing to the genius he cocked an eyebrow, Tony seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in and leapt to his feet, swaying shakily as he tried to sift through the alcoholic fuzz that had settled over his brain.  
"Right. Suit. Come on. Roof. Let's go. J.A.R.V.I.S have the suit waiting for me, this is an emergency."  
"I am sorry sir, but your escape may have to be postponed. Director Fury is on the line and has demanded that you remain grounded for the time being. Would you like me to put him through?" The AI asked placidly. Tony scowled at the term 'escape', he preferred to think of it as an 'impromptu holiday'. Somewhere as far away from the one eyed bastard as he could get.  
"I don't think I have much choice any more do I? Go on, let's have it." He flinched as Fury's face dominated the TV screen, he didn't think it would have been possible to convey so much hate through just one eye. He'd been wrong.  
"You know how much I love seeing that beautiful mug of yours first thing in the morning, what can I do fo-"  
"Cut the crap Stark. You've seen the headlines I take it? What in the motherfuck has gotten into you? What the hell is your problem you scum sucking piece of shit? Do you have any idea what this looks like? How fu…"

It went on like that for quite some time. After a minute or two of being called literally every single derogatory name under the sun Tony felt his mind begin to wander. Loki was staring intently at the screen, unbridled anger flaring through his veins. Massaging his temples, the man of iron waited impatiently for the explosion.  
"… I swear if you even so much as blink wrong I will haul your pathetic tin ass back over here and have you and your prissy little bitch princess-"  
"I'm sorry Director. What was that you just called me?" The taller man interrupted politely, daggers hidden behind every single syllable.  
"I called you a priss-"  
"No I heard you very well actually, I just wanted to clarify that you were very well aware of what you just said. Goodbye Director. Oh but wait... Do you hear that? It's coming from your end. Don't you think it sounds like… Hissing? I'd be very careful if I were you." The God said in the calmest, most courteous tone Stark had ever heard him use. With a flick of the wrist Loki wiped the image from the screen before collapsing back onto the couch with a snarl. Shoving the Gods long legs off the couch he fell into the space they had previously occupied with a grunt.  
"Did you just threaten the head of S.H.I.E.L.D.?" He managed to croak out after spending a little moment in silence to collect himself. The diva besides him folded his arms across his chest, lifting his legs and draping them over the shorter man.  
"I did. In hindsight, possibly not my best move. It's only a few snakes though. A few rather large snakes. That is not of import however, was that really us on the news channel? Is there no way we can frame someone else?" He asked, an edge of worry tainting his otherwise perfectly cool voice. Tony shook his head sadly.  
"Nope. That was definitely us. Ugh, did Thor really do belly shots off Clint?"  
"I think it was Bruce. Ah no wait, yes, beg pardon. Thor was paired with Clint and Natasha with Bruce."  
"So that leaves you, me and Steve? What the hell were we doing?"  
"As I recall you two were trying to get me down from the bar. I believe I was singing into a mostly empty bottle of… pink."  
"Pink?"  
"Tony, you better than anyone know not to question my taste in alcohol."  
"Good point. Come on, we should watch it some more, this is not the sort of thing we can be out of the loop on. Besides, there could be some choice blackmail material on here."

Turning the news channel back on the two men watched, paralysed by disbelief, as every excruciatingly, humiliating detail of their last twenty hours was plastered across every single channel, every single newspaper and about 90% of the radio stations.

There was a lesson in here somewhere about the responsibilities of super heroes and 'knowing your limits'. Tony wondered if this could finally be the thing to cure him of his occasional foray into alcoholism. After roughly twenty more seconds of watching the previous nights exploits playing out before him the engineer had to admit that it made quite a compelling case.  
He also felt the need to drown himself in as much tequila and vodka as humanly possible in a desperate attempt to bleach his poor brain.

He was fucked.

Loki was fucked.

Correction:  
Loki was _royally_ fucked.

…

After writing this I suddenly feel the need to drink. A lot.


	15. DAT ASS

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: Hope you enjoy, I will be getting back to something more like a plot again after this little excursion, I just adore tormenting poor Loki :')

…

Best case scenario: their own shame would kill them before they had to make a public statement. Or before Pepper got hold of them.

"Tony… Why is Thor mostly naked? I mean, oh Valhalla you can see everything! Is that an arrow between his-! NO. I do not want to even consider it. There's you at the bar looking normal enough… You're sat on Steve. I mean, Steve is literally on all fours and you're using him as a make shift bar stool. Did we manage to get the Captain drunk last night? How did we do this?"  
"My darling Prince, I would be much less worried about why I was using Steve as a barstool and much more concerned as to why you are in nothing but your jeans and pole dancing against… Well. That certainly brings a whole new meaning to term 'brotherly love' doesn't it. Ah wait, you've been moved onto an actual pole now. Much better, not nearly half as incestuous."  
"We're not related." The mortified immortal snapped as he watched himself on the screen pole dancing a _little too well_ as men and women alike threw money at him.

"Hey, hey, hey check this out! Someone's making a move on Nat! OH DEAR SWEET GOD, PEOPLE'S ARMS ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BEND THAT WAY. I think I'm gonna hurl. Loki are you seeing this?" The engineer asked, glancing at the God before dry retching a few times. The still mostly naked man had the bridge of his nose pinched between a finger and thumb, eyes screwed shut in concentration.  
"I think I remember how all this starts to go wrong." He mumbled, and Tony was almost certain he heard something like guilt lacing his words.  
"Loki what did you do?" He hesitated, not entirely certain he wanted to know the answer. Loki shook his head, lips sealed shut in a tight grimace, merely nodding to the screen. As much as he wanted to just crawl back into bed and pretend this never happened, the philanthropist fixed his eyes on the TV.

It was infinitely more terrible than he could have ever imagined.  
This was the God of Mischief in all his magnificently inebriated glory.  
He was in his element.

Chaos flared behind viridian eyes as the God detached himself from the pole, melting into the ether. The camera however was focused on Captain America swinging Iron Man around by his ankles to the desperate cries of 'faster, faster!' In the background a gorgeous woman wearing surprisingly little and still managing to look classy, with strikingly green eyes and a creamy complexion sidled over to Bruce. The two seemed to hit it off before the aforementioned mystery woman practically dragged the recluse into the toilets mere moments later. Somewhere off camera Clint wolf whistled and cheered whilst Natasha continued to beat various men senseless. The view port shifted to her holding a man twice her size in one of her infamous thigh grips, his face turning an unnatural shade of purple.

Roughly two minutes passed before Loki's body tore through the adjoining wall with a resounding crunch.  
Using the rubble as leverage, his arms managed to haul himself upright. He didn't even realise he was still in a dress that now hung oddly over his suddenly less curvaceous figure. The mischievous glint long replaced with a healthy does of fear, his eyes widened in terror as an enormous green blur tore through what was left of the bar, rage oozing from every pore as it bore down on the trickster. Shrieking in a most un-Godly fashion, the man in drag dodged a gargantuan fist and darted through the doors, spilling out onto the street.

Funnily enough the cameras followed.

Tony facepalmed, both on and off screen. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the carnage but wrapped an arm around his partner when he felt a face press itself into his shoulder. The shape shifter was watching his doomed endeavour out of one eye, chewing his lip to shreds in the process. The shorter man began to stroke the inky hair, trying desperately to supress his grin.

Back on screen several people were trying to simultaneously follow the chase and remain as far away as possible. The Avengers were amongst these brave few. Ditching the heels after one too many times falling over the God finally began to put more distance between himself and the Hulk. Several cars began rocketing overhead, and for a heart stopping moment he thought they were being aimed at him, screaming metal sparking as the machines crashed to the ground a short ways ahead. It was only when he ran into them that he realised he'd given the hate machine too little credit. He'd created a barricade.  
Skidding to a halt not quickly enough, the barely conscious body careened into the hood of a car, rolling over the bonnet and landing in a heap on the other side. Without warning the floor splintered beneath him as the lumbering mass of fury crashed to the ground, pinning the God between a wall of battered vehicles and a towering, green, frothing beast. On all fours Loki tried to crawl between the monsters legs when he was dragged across the ground and hoisted into the air. Trying in vain to prise the fingers wrapped round his waist in a vice like grip off him, the trickster was raised until he was staring directly into the face of the abomination. The Hulk roared something incomprehensible, the rush of hot breath blowing the raven hair from the pointed face.  
By this point the rest of the team had managed to co-ordinate themselves into something like a circle around the two renegade heroes. It would have looked slightly more impressive had Barton not begun vomiting all over the Widow's shoes while Steve tried desperately to keep both the former playboy and the God of Thunder from collapsing.  
"It was just a joke! Put me down, I demand it! You cannot do this, I am a God!" The mischief maker half demanded half implored.  
"Where pretty lady go?" The thing formally known as Banner demanded.  
Loki's mouth opened and shut noiselessly.  
"BRING BACK PRETTY LADY." Banner's alter ego yelled again, his grip tightening painfully around the lanky frame. Struggling to breathe, the silvertongue shook his head defiantly.  
"Loki, what the hell are you doing? Just give him what he wants!" Natasha screamed, from somewhere behind him.  
"I… amnot… having… sexwithTHAT!" He managed to choke out in response, his lips turning an alarming shade of blue.  
"I give you my permission to make out with the Hulk!" Tony hiccoughed loudly just out of glaring range.  
"Brother! You have done worse!" Thor boomed from the same direction as his partner. Loki tried desperately to block out the snorts and giggles from his supposed friends and roughly half the population of New York as he forced himself to lock eyes with the other green eyed being. Eventually the humiliated deity shifted his body back into its female form, inhaling deeply as the death grip slackened slightly. The Hulk smiled broadly, using one clumsy hand to stroke Loki's hair.  
"Pretty lady give Hulk kiss now." The giant shouted happily, laughter breaking out once more from the Avengers, camera wielders and bystanders. Gritting his/her teeth Loki tried to turn away, but a warning look from Steve and Natasha convinced the trickster into pressing a chaste kiss to the Hulks lips. Grunting contentedly the monster slowly and delicately placed the shamed God on the floor were he/she promptly collapsed to his/her knees.  
Stumbling over to his friend, Stark patted the beast jovially on the leg as Hulk crossed his arms, an unashamedly pleased look plastered across his face.  
"Hulk would smash pretty lady." He stated bluntly much to Loki's chagrin, though the sorcerer dared not change back lest he enrage the beast again.  
"I hear that brother." Tony snorted, pulling away to make his way over to the normally male God.

The image froze, shrinking into the background as the newsperson covering the debacle and several important looking people began heatedly discussing the outrage. It was at this point Tony decided enough was enough. Shutting off the TV he turned to his partially cowering partner before tilting the angular face upwards until their eyes met.  
"I completely fucking love you." He declared, his tone strangely devoid of any joking.  
"I kissed the Hulk, caused hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of property damage and pole danced against my brother. What is wrong with you?"  
"Babe. Whatever you did in that toilet stall I forgive. It was worth it. I could not love you harder right now." Tony continued, drowning out the Gods retorts. "But you have to fill me in, what exactly _did_ you do to Bruce back there."

Loki whined and tried to pull his chin from the calloused hands intently gripping his chin. He didn't have the energy to fight back the carefully concealed accusation, partially because he knew all too well what it must have looked like on film.  
"I turned into a woman, flirted a little and led Banner into a toilet stall. Just as he was starting to get a little… racy, I turned back into myself andmaybeshoutedLOKI'Dinhisface." He explained hurriedly, tearing his eyes away from his boyfriends as shame clouded his vision.  
"You channelled chicks with dicks into a prank involving the Hulk? In my books that makes you a hero. And don't worry I'm sure Bruce'll see the funny side of it. He's generally pretty good with things like this, maybe not so much you causing him to green out in public, but I think he got his revenge." Tony chuckled stroking the bridge of the other's nose with his thumb, his fingers relaxing their hold on the tricksters jaw. Loki whimpered quietly, pulling his face away from the gentle fingers and burying it in the space between arc reactor and chest.  
Tony tried not to laugh. He really did. After holding off as long as he could he finally let rip, tears streaming down his face, holding his ribs as he doubled over in hysterics. Loki tried to snap something spiteful back but his frown dissolved as the infectious laughter got to him too. They were interrupted however when Tony's hand quickly dived into his pocket to grab his phone. Shielding the text from his other half he nearly ruptured something trying to contain the mounting hysteria as he tapped out a reply.  
"What is that? I demand you tell me at once!" Loki commanded haughtily, trying to claw back some of his dignity.  
"It's nothing darling, trust me on this." The scientist replied before pulling his lover into a tight embrace, keeping the phone as far away from the God as possible.

It was probably for the best that Loki didn't read the message he had just received.  
Tony could only imagine Bruce's face as the physicist had sent the billionaire a screenshotted image of the Hulk kissing a female, half naked Loki with the caption 'HULK SMASH DAT ASS' beneath it.

…

So many words! So much shame…


	16. This Place

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: Hmmmm :3  
Also thank you for the feedback, I've tried to break up the paragraphs a little more to make it more readable, so lemme know if I'm still messing it up! :)))

…

Legs swinging over the edge of the world Loki smiled serenely, hands clasped loosely together in his lap. He sometimes wondered what on earth could have driven him to want to destroy a view such as this.

As the sun dipped beyond the horizon of jutting, glittering buildings he decided that this place had so much more to offer than Asgard ever could. This planet was vibrant and unpredictable; it was a beautiful kind of _chaos_. It had none of the stale, bland, uniformity that the gleaming towers of his home world favoured. Regardless of their brilliance, it was all too much of the same. It was stifling. But not here, not this land.

He grinned as a firm hand draped itself around his waist, another offering him a glass of something warm smelling. Leaning into the embrace he took the glass, sipping the amber liquid and relishing the burning trail it left down the back of his throat. Coarse, slightly greasy fingers traced seemingly meaningless patterns across his arm, knowing the engineer however he was probably working through some sort of equation. Though the God had learnt early on in their relationship to not question this habit, the resulting mathematical drivel was enough to give him a migraine.  
He watched absently as the digits danced across his arm, relishing the comfortable silence that his partner also appeared to be indulging in. It was perfect. This moment was perfect.  
All of it.

The sun slipped beneath the edge of the world bathing the two men in the glow of a million glittering faraway lights as they presided over the city that never slept. He sighed contentedly, cradling his head against the tanned neck and turning his body slightly so he could wrap both his arms around the thicker waist. Tony kissed the other mans forehead thoughfully, his eyes staring blankly out over the shimmering expanse of the city.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He asked quietly, grazing his chin over a smooth, pale cheek.  
"It would cost you far greater than a penny Stark."  
"A very pretty penny then?" The scientist countered.  
Loki huffed good naturedly, tilting his head to kiss the face still pressing delicately against his own.  
"I was wondering about this world, what I nearly did to it and how maddened I must have been to have craved the destruction of something so good. It truly is a marvel this place."  
"It was never this beautiful until you showed up."  
"Why Stark, I do believe that is by far the most pathetic thing you have ever said to me. Tell me more." Loki snickered, following the others gaze out onto the insomnia induced metropolis.  
"Oh you! But it's true. Before you it was all alcohol, numbers and wallowing. Now it's a healthy dose of all three _and_ you. Which incidentally makes all the previous like, a billion times more fun. Seriously though… I've missed this. Just you, me and the whiskey."  
"How do I make numbers fun? They give me a headache."  
"You make them sexier. And I always found them pretty sexy to begin with."  
Loki 'hn'd' quietly in response and began fiddling idly with the now empty glass in his hands. The moment lapsed into silence once more, one musing over numbers and how they could possibly be deemed erotic, the other trying to broach a subject possibly a little too personal for either of their likings.

"You really don't want to go back do you?" Tony muttered almost to himself.  
"Not particularly. I regret what I did, you know. To my people, my parents… My brother. I would have made a glorious king, not that I ever truly desired the throne in the first place. I thought I could make them proud Stark. Do you think I still could?"  
"I think you already have. Everything you ever did was out of a need to be accepted and at the root of that a need to be loved."  
"This is beginning to sound like another of your formulas dearest."  
"Ha! I'm still working out the details. But damn they should be proud of you. I know I am."  
"I suppose that's all that really matters then." The former prince whispered, blinking away the dampness in his eyes.

Tony really didn't know what else to say.  
And if he was clueless then, at that vaguest of admissions, then he sure has hell had no idea what to do when the God began to sob.  
Sometimes words weren't needed.  
All it took was a touch.

Wrapping the taller man up in his arms he smiled as the tricksters head fell into its favourite place just besides his reactor, the light tinting the almost white skin a soft blue. He made quiet shushing noises, methodically stroking the small of his partners back.  
"What have I done Tony? Why do they keep forgiving me, why can't they just disown me and be done with it? It hurts when I think on what I did to them and I never stop thinking about it! Make it go away, please?"

Tony didn't have the words ready that could make things all better.  
He didn't know what to say.  
So he improvised.  
"It's guilt, Loki. That's all it is, but it'll pass. And they will never give up on you. No matter how many times you screw up, because they can see in you what everyone else does too."  
"What's that?" The trickster snivelled, wiping his eyes against the thin fabric of the others shirt.  
"This. This is what they see. You here, right now, desperately wanting to be redeemed."  
"But is that enough?"  
"How could they not want to save something so beautiful?" The mortal replied easily. Loki bit back whatever caustic words he might have spat in response, letting them die on his tongue, instead settling for whimpering against his lover's chest. It was pathetic really.  
But he didn't stop.  
He wasn't sure that he could.  
"I think Tony, that I stand corrected. _That_ was, without a doubt, the single most disgustingly piteous thing you have ever said."  
"I should be ashamed." Tony grinned, the cavity in his chest were a heart should be lifting slightly as the God let out a wet laugh in response.  
"Apologies for ruining the moment Stark." Loki murmured, pushing himself away from the comforting embrace and facing away from his companion in a display of humility. A not so gentle punch to his arm snapped his gaze back to the stockier male, watery eyes narrowing in an almost petulant frown.  
"You're not perfect princess, but fuck it neither am I. And yet this has been one of the most perfect nights of my life. Now I'm no rocket scientist, well, I am, but that's beside the point, what meant to say was that I don't think it matters how good a person is for them to create something utterly fantastic. You inadvertently created the Avengers based on nothing but hatred, rage and daddy issues and look at all the good it's done! So if it takes two adult men with a penchant for doing what they want, not giving a shit, wreaking havoc and drinking away their patriarchal issues to have _the most_perfect moment in either of their miserable lives, I'm not going to question it."

Loki faltered at that. It was the stupidest logic he'd ever heard. And he'd spent an entire childhood listening to Thor trying to 'rationalise' pretty much everything he didn't really understand. That was a lot of things. Most things actually.  
The God wiped absentmindedly at his swollen eyes until they were bone dry and stinging.  
"So… How would you feel about having sex on the roof of the Avengers HQ?" Stark suggested offhandedly. The trickster seemed to contemplate it, his mouth twisting wryly as the offer wormed its way into his head.  
"I would say that you have suggested worse places."  
"You would be correct in saying that."  
"By the Gods Stark, hurry up and kiss me before I get bored."  
"On it!"

In truth, Tony hadn't been completely honest when he'd said the night had been perfect. It was so close it might as well have been, but still…  
Lying beneath the stars, bathed in the blinking lights of a thousand buildings, hot sweat clinging to cool skin Tony grinned as the unashamedly naked body besides his own curled into his side. He felt long, lean, icy legs become entangled within his own and a porcelain hand rest gently over his makeshift heart.  
It was so close to perfection.  
"I love you Tony Stark, more than I have any right to. Stay with me, please. For all times."

The genius had been proven wrong.  
Again.  
This was perfect.

…

Sorry for the mush, I had all the feels.


	17. Hips Don't Lie

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: I am literally amazed at how many people are following this story, so I'd just like to say thanks to my readers! Also, a couple of people have expressed concern over me ending this story and I assure you I have no plans to stop writing any time soon, but rest assured I will let you know well in advance when I do! :) Don't be afraid to tell me your opinions, you know I love hearing from you!

…

"ANTHONY STARK! You mind numbingly egotistical, self centred, ignorant, filthy, whorish vermin! You are the lowest of the low, you back stabbing slut! Come out here and face my wrath like a man! If I have to hunt you down your pain will be tenfold-"  
"You called my ravishingly delightful princess?" The man in question replied, using the bulk of his potential brother in law as a sort of Godly meat shield. Loki skidded to a halt, his face flushed crimson with seething rage. Storming over to the cowering mass that was his boyfriend and his slightly amused older brother the tricksters hands flared green with barely controlled magic.  
"Babe, before you do anything hasty hear me out! Thor got some sort of intergalactic call or whatever from your dad kind of demanding we give the tesseract back. I mean, we only held onto it this long so we could get some more sneaky readings from it, but you know, the otherworldly bromance code kind of dictates we hand it over now we're done with it. I didn't have any say in when Thor was gonna head back with it. It's all on him!"  
"Yes Stark, I am well aware of that, but was it strictly necessary for you to promise that we'd accompany him also without consulting me first?" The God snarled, green eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.  
"Well… No. But I thought you loved my spontaneity?" Tony said, punctuating his sentence with one of his dazzling hundred watt grins. The gesture fell flat as it took all of Thor's might to separate the angered sorcerer's hands from his friends throat.

After half an hour of Loki trying to throttle his beloved his temper finally cooled enough for him to try and rationalise the situation. The sooner they went meant the sooner they would be able to return. It also meant he would be able to see his son again, that was definitely a plus. It did however mean dealing with his 'family' and the idiots three plus the tart. It would also be the first time venturing back onto home turf since his punishment. And then there was Odin. Though he should technically fall under the 'family' bracket there was still a little too much resentment for the part he played in the mischief-makers temporary descent into madness.

Loki sighed.  
There was no way he could get out of it now. Thor was here, tesseract in hand and then there was Tony. Dressed in what the Midgardians might refer to as 'smart casual' with a hold-all by his side. It looked inconspicuous enough but Loki would put money on his partner having somehow managed to store his suit in there. Rubbing his jaw, eyes tightly shut, his shoulders tensed as a large, heavy hand gripped one of them. Cracking one eye open almost painfully he shrugged off the thunder Gods hand and ignored the kicked puppy look he was given in return.

"You will suffer for this, you do realise that don't you Stark?" He said, all the bite dissolving from his words leaving a tired sort of resignation in its wake.  
"What, he didn't say you look fat in leather or bring up your child bearing hips again did he?" An annoyingly chirpy voice quipped from behind the trio.  
"Not helping Clint." Tony warned, edging slightly further behind the towering blonde. Natasha swatted her other half around the head, lips twitching upwards at his indignant yelp.  
Bruce sidled around the now bickering pair of assassins, closely followed by Steve who seemed to be in an almost permanent state of bewilderment these days. The usually silent scientist crept up behind Loki, snorting as the God almost leapt from his skin when he tapped him on the shoulder and composed himself again quickly enough for Bruce to give him a grudging silent appraisal.  
"What the hell have you done now Tony?" Steve asked wearily.  
"I haven't done anything! Well. Nothing's blown up aside from possibly my relationship with tall, dark and glowering over there. There is a trip to Asgard on the cards however. Pretty soon actually. Like, yanno, tonight." He snapped, shooting a sharp look towards the lean, snarling man stood but a few steps away.  
"Asgard? Thor's crib? Thor _and_ Loki's crib." Clint amended after a particularly venomous hiss from the trickster.  
"I wasn't aware there was more than one Asgard birdbrain." Bruce deadpanned.  
It was taking all his concentration not to see green.

It was first thing in the morning, he'd had a crap nights sleep thanks to several headboards banging against various walls all through the night and right now he was being denied any form of caffeine as the rabble had decided to congregate around the breakfast bar. He was half tempted to start shoving his way through the mess of people and ignore the volatile atmosphere the room was currently submerged in. Glancing from Tony to his comrades partner however he realised that this probably wasn't the best idea. And so he opted to stick it out.

"You know I've always wanted to go to Asgard. Well, since we realised it existed." Natasha mused aloud. Several members of the group turned to eye her warily. "What?" She exclaimed indignantly. "It sounds nice. All gold towers and rainbow bridges. Besides, i'm due a holiday." The widow hinted, a small, wicked smile toying at her lips.  
"I've heard you Gods throw some wicked awesome parties, and as long as someone guarantees that I won't wake up the following day next to a horse I'd be down with a little Asgardian road trip." Clint offered before losing himself in thoughts of unlimited booze and food, ignoring the snort of indignation Loki uttered.  
"Wait, wait, guys, hold up. You aren't coming. This isn't up for debate. You can't just decide you're going, that's not cool."  
"Oh really, Stark? Because I'm fairly certain that's exactly what you did. I say they can join us if they so wish." The mischief maker countered childishly.  
"You're only letting them tag along out of spite! Do you have any idea how badly this will go if you let them?" Tony shouted, suddenly thankful for Thor's continued presence as peace keeper, although the thunder God was doing a pretty shitty job of it. His gratitude deepened however as his tongue continued to run without his brain's input.  
"Seriously babe, it's a good job you've got such a pretty face otherwise I'd have slapped you across it by now."  
"Is that so metal man? I'd like to see you say that to my face!"  
"Why don't you sashay those huge ass hips over this way and we can end this."  
"You leave my hips out of this mortal!"  
"Can't leave your hips out of anything, they're too damn big!"  
"I will make the exceptionally short remainder of your worthless little life a living hell! I will tear off each and every one of your limbs, devouring you piece by bloody piece, give birth to you and then do it all over again you wretched hominid!" The God screeched launching himself at the smaller man.

For a heart stopping moment the team feared the worst as the two men collided with a resounding crack. They watched in horror as two sets of teeth clashed together violently and the engineer grabbed his raging boyfriend by the hair and throat. Looking back, the rest of the group struggled to recall what part of the exchange had terrified them the most.  
The moment they thought Loki and Tony had killed each other, or the moment when all that could be heard over the awed silence was the sound of two grown men noisily making out.

"That's fucking wrong. He just threatened to _give birth_ to him and now they're necking in front of us. I'm gone, that's it. I am so done with this shit it's unreal." Clint stammered incredulously, backing away slowly, eyes painfully transfixed on the carnage that was Stark and Laufeysons stomach churning make out session. Natasha joined in the tactical retreat muttering something about packing. Steve flushed scarlet and scurried out of the room as quick as super-humanly possible.  
Bruce and Thor hovered uncertainly before Bruce decided that his need for coffee outweighed the temptation to find the nearest bottle of bleach and wash his eyes with it. Thor coughed loudly, and when that failed to halt the two lovebirds he took it upon himself to forcibly separate them. The pair parted wetly, Tony appearing slightly startled his other half looking decidedly more affronted at being interrupted so ungraciously.  
"So…" Bruce offered as he seated himself at the bar, coffee now safely in hand.  
"So… You coming too science friend?" Tony asked with a smirk.  
"You bet." The other genius chuckled in response.

Loki began to shuffle nervously as he leaned against the bar long after his brother and the angry man had departed, his mind raking over the series of events that were now inevitably set in stone. He couldn't get out of this now, not with a legion of Avengers behind him. Sighing, he ran a hand through his dishevelled hair. A calloused hand caught him by the wrist and pulled him into an uncomfortable embrace. After an awkward moment were his body stiffened at the sudden contact he finally managed to relax his tensed muscles and ease into the hold.

"I really don't want to do this Tony." He whispered almost inaudibly.  
"I know. I really do. I'm gonna be with you though and so are the rest of the team. Nobody can touch you while we're around. Well, everybody but me. I get to touch you a whole lot."  
Loki couldn't help but snicker at that.  
"I suppose then that I should go and pack, shouldn't I?" He mumbled almost to himself. The clinch slackened and the magician almost mourned the abrupt lack of contact. He felt himself being dragged towards the bedroom and he knew packing was the last thing on his lovers mind.  
"I do believe I am quite capable of packing my own bags dearest." He commented lightly.  
"You could." Tony smiled. "But who's going to help you shower after?"

Loki cackled loudly.

Mortals were such entertaining creatures. And surely they would prove to be just as amusing on Asard. Oh how he was going to enjoy watching the All Father squirm his way through this one.

If it was one thing Loki Liesmith was good at, it was making people squirm.

…

There ya go, enjoy! Lemme know what you think :)!


	18. It's Enough To Make You Vomit Glitter

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: I'm not gonna lie, I have been dying to write this chapter! :D

…

"You ready?"  
"As I'll ever be."  
Tony squeezed the hand of the taller man next to him, nudging him affectionately with his shoulder as he noticed his partner slowly begin to lose himself in his own head again. Smiling apologetically Loki inched closer to the shorter man as the swirling vortex broke through the clouds and engulfed them in a whirl of stars and space. The trickster's stomach churned, though he couldn't tell whether that was from the bifrost or the nerves that had been plaguing him for the last few hours. He felt his trembling hand clutching harder at the firmer one, mentally scolding himself for being so weak.

The group as one stepped defiantly onto the other planet before dissolving into a mass of shaky, breathless laughs.  
"It takes some time to get used to I am afraid my friends." Thor grinned as the Avengers quickly righted themselves. Natasha cast a well-hidden scrutinizing look over the younger God and noted how shaken he looked. She took in his thinly veiled exhaustion and his slightly too pallid complexion. She also paid attention to how he was still desperately clinging to the engineer, as if Stark could somehow anchor him in some sort of relative state of calm. Clint sidled over to her, coughing subtly to draw her concerned gaze away from their friends. He grinned impishly at her and she knew without hearing the words exactly what he was telling her.  
_'Everything will be fine, we've got their backs.'_

For once, he was right so she didn't press the issue. This was out of their hands now.

"Oh look." Loki stated dryly to cover up the waver in his voice. "They appear to have left us a welcoming committee." The group turned to look out over the beauty that was the newly re-made rainbow bridge and saw several horses stomping across it impatiently.  
"Dudes, I am not getting on one of those things. They're big enough to eat me."  
"Don't be such a baby Clint, I'm sure they're perfectly-"  
Bruce's words were drowned out as the sound of hundreds of hooves thundered around them. Dropping instinctively into battle stances the Avengers instantly turned to face the onslaught. Natasha dropped the dagger she had procured seemingly from nowhere. The blade clattered dully on the shimmering floor as the crashing of hooves descended, well not a hundred as previously thought, more like eight.  
Loki gasped and dropped his lover's hand instantly, darting forwards ignoring the startled looks plastered across his comrades faces. Throwing his arms around the great, dark neck he stifled a sob as a velvety nose nuzzled his cheek before moving to snuffle his hair. One giant hoofed leg draped itself over the Gods shoulder in an endearing manner. Burying his face in the warmth of his sons neck Loki hugged himself tighter to the giant creature, the horse whickering happily before pulling away. The liesmith stepped back as the gigantic horse began to prance around him, braying and cavorting as if he hadn't seen his father/mother in years, which Loki realised ruefully, he hadn't. Time passed differently between realms and the sorcerer could only guess at how long he had actually been away from his child's perspective.

Before he could utter a single word, the towering mass of hooves and hair dropped to the ground and began rolling around on his back, all eight of his legs kicking and splayed without a care in the world. Loki's face reddened instantly as he raised his hands and began making shooing motions at the tangle of limbs.  
"Sleipnir stop that at once! You are making yourself look common! Is that any way for an esteemed war horse to behave?" He snapped half heartedly as his son paused momentarily to eye him cheekily.  
"It's terrifying because I swear hand on heart that horse just said 'I do what I want'." Steve stuttered loudly.  
"Like mother like son eh?" Clint muttered as Loki took it upon himself to right the unruly beast when it continued to ignore him and remained on its back. Once all eight hooves were safely planted on solid ground again the magic user turned mother hooked an arm under his sons head and lead him back towards his friends who were, for the most part, trying to reign in their amusement.  
"If you would kindly stop showing me up I would like to introduce you to my companions." He hissed in one twitching ear. "Everyone, this is Sleipnir. My son."

The awkward pause blossomed as gawping mouths were snapped back into place.  
"Um, hi?" Natasha hazarded in an effort to shatter the uneasy silence. If there was any form of protocol for these sorts of situations nobody had bothered informing her. She was saved any further disgrace as Thor bounded past, clapping one giant hand on the horses head and ruffled his mane delightedly.  
"My favourite nephew!" He bellowed, laughing loudly as the horse turned its head and began to nibble at the blonde's beard.  
Whilst Thor was busy entertaining himself with his nephew, gathering the others around to make his acquaintance, Loki wandered over to Tony and wrapped an arm around his waist.  
"You're taking this in remarkably good stride. You almost didn't even react when he appeared." He smirked as Tony shook his head, lips curled upwards.  
"I was more surprised at the size of him than anything else. No wonder your hips turned out as they did." The genius chuckled as his partner huffed noisily.  
"Obviously he wasn't that big when I birthed him Stark. And I thought I warned you what would happen if you continued to bring up mention of my hips in polite conversation." The slender man warned. Tony rested his hand on the angular haunches besides him, kissing his boyfriends neck as he was lead to the still braying creature.

"Son, this is Tony. I'm sure somebody has previously mentioned him to you, idle tongues having nothing better to do and whatnot. Play nicely with him, he is one of my few sources of entertainment on Midgard." Loki chided lightly rubbing his palm up and down Sleipnirs soft nose. The horse snorted on the hand and trotted over to Tony who forced himself not to shy away from the lumbering stallion. The two eyed each other warily for a moment before the horse dove down and licked the mans coarse cheek with a rough tongue. He whinnied cheerfully as Tony reached up to pat his maybe future step-son on the neck. Glancing over to the trickster he couldn't help but grin as the normally perfectly composed immortal tried to surreptitiously dab the moistness out of his eyes.  
"Brother, as much as I know you would love to catch up with Sleipnir I fear we may have lingered long enough. Come, there will be much time to chat later!" Thor boomed not unkindly.

Loki was thankful for the distraction as it gave him a few precious seconds to dry his eyes.  
He hated crying, especially in front of others. He silently admonished himself for acting like a hormonal wreck again. Leaping up onto his sons broad back he offered a steady hand to Tony who folded his arms defensively across his chest.  
"There is no way in hell I'm getting up there. I'm sorry darling but I'm with Clint on this one."  
"I am afraid my beloved coward that you have very little choice in the matter." The prankster said sweetly, the faintest traces of magic colouring his words. And before Tony knew it he was sat behind the sorcerer, perched uncomfortably on the horses bare back. Green eyes glinted mischievously as he listened to a barrage of quiet curses when the horse lurched forwards, darting with frightening speed across the bridge.

"I stand corrected, I thought watching Loki play mother hen was the strangest thing I'd see today. Watching him ride across a rainbow bridge on the back of his son with Tony in tow is definitely weirder." Bruce sniggered as he was helped onto his own mount, watching as Natasha tried to haul Clint onto their own steed.  
"That is literally the most perfect metaphor for their relationship ever. If someone could just start vomiting glitter the image would be complete." The archer wheezed, finally managing to drag his leg over the fidgeting animal beneath him.  
"So it wasn't just me that found that highly odd." Steve added already breaking into a trot on his own horse.  
"Steve you still find the microwave odd, you aren't allowed to comment." Barton hollered as Natasha kneed their horse into motion.

Charging ahead, well out of earshot from their companions Tony knotted his hands against his partners stomach and rested his chin against the others shoulder.  
"You do realise don't you that the first thing I'm doing when we get home is telling the world how I've ridden both you and your son right?"  
Loki snorted derisively, only vaguely disgusted by the innuendo.  
"And I'm sure you'd just love it if I took it upon myself to share to the entirety of Midgard my notes on how you compare in the bed chambers to Svadilfari. What would people begin to think if I told them you lost out to a horse?"  
"But we both know that's not true though. Right? It's not is it? I am way better than any horse. Right?"  
"Oh I don't know. With you there was never any threat of internal haemorrhaging."  
"Only you could make that sound like a bad thing." Tony laughed, burying his face in the mass of black hair before him.

Sleipnir tried desperately to ignore the fact that he was well within earshot of his mother talking about sex with his father to his new daddy.  
Sometimes it was difficult being Sleipnir Lokison, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

…

That horse. I love him, I really do.


	19. My Child

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: Mild Tony rage and plenty of feels.

…

It was too quiet this place. The apprehension was stifling and no matter how many times he clenched and unclenched his palms he couldn't seem to keep them dry. Wiping the nervous sweat off onto his jeans the trickster considered for a moment changing into his battle attire. Just thinking of all that leather and metal however quickly banished that particular thought, he was perspiring enough already and required no extra help in that department.  
The throne that he had once briefly claimed as his own dominated the dais before him. Loki had hung back, allowing Thor to bound forwards, glowing blue cube and all, and offer it to their father. His father. That man.

Odin clasped the blonde giant warmly on the shoulder before standing to address the meagre crowd. The elder God still cut an impressive figure even in his later years and Loki was annoyed to find himself still intimidated by the man he once called father.

"Greetings my Midgardian friends. It is my privilege to house some of the Nine Realms most celebrated heroes within these hallowed halls and it pleases me to no end to see you here alongside my sons." The God king boomed in a manner not unlike his legitimate child. However, were Thor's voice and volume were often the result of far too much excitement and joviality his fathers timbre was that of a man well versed in diplomacy and too adjusted to speaking to hundreds if not thousands of people.  
"We are honoured you would have us here." Natasha said tactfully seeing as her fellow teammates appeared to have been awed into silence by the sheer magnificence and grandeur of their surroundings.

All but the liesmith and his brother, the former seemed more intent on grinding his teeth into dust than engaging in polite conversation. The Widow could hardly blame him if half the stories she'd heard had any semblance of truth.  
A soft, sweet voice piped up from somewhere besides the King. Loki's head snapped towards the sound, the faintest of smiles adorning his face. A woman later on in years but no less beautiful for it stepped forwards, arms outstretched before her in a warm, comforting gesture. She wrapped her arms around Thor who grinned as his mother began to scold and fuss over him attempting to smooth out his cape, comment on the length of his hair and reprimand him for being late all at once. The future king merely laughed and held her at arms length, spinning her round to face her other son. Immediately the woman's face broke out into a wide, proud grin. Tony couldn't help but see the slightest traces of relief mixed in there to. He kept his mouth shut for once.

"Oh Loki! It is so good to finally have you back, it hasn't been the same without you here!" She cooed, pulling the lanky man into an awkward embrace. For a moment it looked like the spell caster might try to pull away like a gawky teenager whose mother was embarrassing him in front of all his friends before he returned the hug. He chuckled faintly under his breath before replying.  
"I'd imagine the librarians have been practically dying of boredom with no-one else to hound about missing and overdue books."  
"How have you been? Are you well? Oh you look so pale, are you sure you're feeling all right because it doesn't look like you're eating near-"  
"Mother! Calm yourself, please! I am fine, I am well and I am happy, there is nothing to concern yourself over." Loki laughed, pulling away from her grip and dragging his boyfriend forwards. The engineer took one of Frigga's delicate hands and gently pressed his lips to her knuckles causing the Queen to flush scarlet. Frowning, Loki jabbed an elbow into his partners ribs.  
"Reel it in lothario." The trickster hissed out of the corner of his mouth. One of the Avengers snorted behind him, probably Clint. He chose to ignore it however as his mothers attention had been completely captured by his sometimes too charming other half.  
"I think now may be the perfect time to show our esteemed guests to their quarters. Thor, if you would be so kind?" Loki asked in velvet tones. Taking the hint for once, his brother ushered their friends out of the hall and more importantly, out of earshot.

"So mother, _father_… This is Anthony Stark. My… Boyfriend." He ventured. Somehow the words sounded forced and he couldn't for the life of him remove the edge from his voice.  
"Please, call me Tony." The scientist offered, winking conspiratorially at the still blushing Queen. Odin's face remained impassive.  
"So tell me Tony Stark, how is it you came to court my son?" The sovereign began, his voice completely level and betraying nothing. "We all know what Loki did- tried to do, one would think an encounter like that would drive potential suitors away, not attract them." The All Father enquired, his tone remained light but everyone heard the accusation behind the words. Frigga scowled faintly but said nothing.  
"How could I not?" The innovator smirked. "I have a very bad habit of gravitating towards people just as broken as I am. And your son here, your beautiful, maddening son was a perfect match. We're good together. We work. He's a God and I pretty much rate myself as one. We're a match made in Valhalla."  
"You did not answer my question Stark." The white haired man growled from his throne.  
"You want to know how got together? You want to know all the gory details right? Fine. But I can't promise you'll like it." Tony snapped, anger flaring in his chest. This man dare question their love? That was it. The gloves were off.  
"I suppose we have you to thank really though don't we? Had my dearest Loki here not driven himself beyond the brink of madness in a desperate bid to win your love and respect he'd never have thought to conquer earth. And when he failed and was sent packing back 'home' I'm sure you welcomed him with open arms after that. Or not.

"During his isolation I think it might have occurred to him at some point that he was lonely. You know whilst on earth he spent a hell of a lot of time mind controlling people? But do you know what the really funny thing about that is? He talked to them. Not like minions or slaves or mindless beasts, he spoke to them like old friends. He treated them with all the courtesy and respect you would with those dearest to you. Essentially he was forcing people to like him, and can you guess where that crushing need for affection might have stemmed from? I'll give you a massive hint; maybe it came from that moment when he was hanging over the edge of the world, begging you to love him and you said '_No'_.

"So after countless years of crushing solitude maybe he got to wondering what it would be like to have a friend again. This time a friend he'd earned not made. So out of the blue one day when I was alerted to a certain demi God sat on my roof for all the world looking like he might throw himself off it, against all my better judgement I went up there alone. That was when I learned it was just an illusion, that somewhere on the other side of the universe he was sat alone, weeping in a cell, cut off from all but the most basic forms of his magic and he had chosen to waste some of that precious energy on visiting me. And not to rage and scream and curse me, he just wanted to talk. He wanted someone to make him laugh, someone who wasn't afraid of saying the wrong thing. He just wanted a distraction.

"And apparently I provided all those things because he kept coming back. And each time he did we'd talk a little more, laugh and sometimes he'd cry. But I'd pretend not to see or just comment on how if he carried on it'd make his makeup run. Eventually it reached the point when I would sit around waiting for him to appear, when all I wanted was to be in his company. One day I got just that. He just materialised from thin air looking more run down than I had ever seen him, but he looked happy. He was happy to see me. Not only a mortal but also one of the men who had helped ruin every single one of his plans. How could I not want someone after all that? I don't regret for one single second letting him in. And I resent your accusations of foul play on his part. He is a good man. One of the best. And believe me, he knew damn well when we started this that he couldn't control me even if he wanted to." Tony finished, he voice having raised in volume enough to possibly be considered shouting. And shouting at God Kings was never advised, but the golden helmeted bastard perched on that throne had rubbed Tony up completely the wrong way.

Everything could be traced back to him, all the hurt and insecurities and pain Loki felt were completely bound up within the man seated before him. He'd sooner let the Hulk have his way with his beautiful body than let that smug git get away without having heard some bitter truths first. So caught up in the moment was he, the engineer almost missed the sounds of someone trying and failing to form coherent words by his side.

Loki's mouth trembled as nothing came forwards, no thank you's, no insults, nothing. His partner had just screamed at his father, the King of the Gods, a man that was more than capable of wiping them out with a single blow.

All for him.

After a torturously long silence the All Father stood. Striding purposefully towards the loud-mouthed human the trickster panicked and placed himself between them, his tongue still broken.  
"Step aside, son."  
Loki shook his head.  
"Please."  
That caught him off guard.  
His father walked past the liesmith and placed a hand on the mortals shoulder, the grip almost painfully tight. Tony swallowed nervously but never allowed his eyes to break contact with Odin's single, all seeing one.  
"Tony Stark I give you my blessing. My gaze spans the universe and I have seen all the good you have done for my son. I will admit I have erred gravely in the past and it has caused my child much heartache and for that I am truly sorry. What it is about you that binds the two of you so fiercely I cannot attempt to understand, but know that I approve."

"What?" Loki squeaked. If Tony had a heart it would have leapt to his throat at the expression on his lovers face. It was a combination of confusion, fear, disbelief and joy. It was beautiful. "I- I don't understand. After everything… How can you-? But I'm not- _What_?" He struggled, his chest tightening with every laboured breath. This had to be a dream. There was no way this could be real.

Odin turned to face his conflicted child and cupped the pointed face with battle scarred hands.  
"I am sorry for ever giving you any reason to doubt my love for you. I have never been as proud to be your father as I am today. I do not expect you to forgive me now, maybe not ever, but I will accept that as long as you understand that although you are not of my blood you are still my kin."  
The trickster recoiled from the touch, his skin burning were his fathers hands had lain across his cheeks. Backing away slightly shaking his head, teeth bared, he raised a shaking finger to point at the shocked immortal.  
"Don't you dare. I can't hear this, I won't. Not now. Not after everything i've done. I will not accept your forgiveness of my sins. I can't. I don't deserve it." He faltered. Emerald eyes prickled with the initial onslaught of tears as he stumbled away from his father.

Before he could run something latched onto his arm, engulfing him in a warmth and familiarity he had dearly missed. Cradling his head to her neck the Goddess pressed a motherly kiss to his cheek, soothing her baby with soft noises and kind words.  
"It was never our intention to hurt you, Loki. You are and always will be my son, my child. Nothing will ever change that. I love you so much, your entire family loves you. Please let us back in. It is killing me watching you drift farther and farther away. There will never come a day, not from now and until the fires of Ragnarok claim us all, that I will ever stop loving you. Know that the two of you will always have a home here on Asgard." She whispered gently in his ear.  
The sorcerer withdrew from her hands, but not in fear or abjection. Nodding his head he offered up the smallest of smiles knowing that she would understand.

"It has been a long day. We should retire for the night. I bid you farewell until the morrow." Loki bowed hurriedly, facing Tony he reached for the engineer's hand and pressed himself tightly against the stockier man as they walked the length of the hall together. The doors swung open and the trickster was the first to disappear through them.  
"Tony!"  
He glanced back. He couldn't help himself.  
"Yeah sweet cheeks?" He heard himself reply, cringing inwardly as the words left his mouth.  
Frigga grinned wickedly.  
"Take care of my child for me. If he refuses our love then please love him even more on our behalf." She called. Stark hovered in the doorway a moment longer, watching as Loki continued on to the end of the corridor, too lost in his own thoughts to notice his partner had fallen behind.  
"I'll do that. Don't you worry." He said, the quips dying on his lips in favour of a simple truth.

The room slipped into silence once more as the door slid shut.  
Frigga stood next to her husband, her glittering eyes not once leaving the door.  
"Will he ever forgive us?" She wondered aloud.  
"Aye my love, I only hope he forgives himself first."  
"I pray it works out between them. I would hate to have to break that Man of Iron, he seems so nice. But should the worst come to pass I do hope we get at least one grandchild out of it."

Odin guffawed heartily, the noise echoing throughout the vast chamber filling it with a resounding lightness.  
There was still a ways to go yet but the wounds that had previously torn their family apart slowly seemed to be mending.  
The All Father only prayed neither his son nor his partner killed each other first.  
Frigga's wroth at being cheated out of another grandchild was a thought that chilled even the God King.

…

And now friends, it's party time. Oh yeah.


	20. A Prelude To Madness

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: Somehow this one ended up a little… saucier than usual. Apologies ;)  
Also many thanks to everyone who reads this! Uploading something at 5 in the morning and then ten hours later seeing it has 12 reviews and two hundred and something views is flattering beyond belief!  
Your comments continue to encourage and delight me!

…

Dawn rolled by and Loki just knew he should've taken Stark up on that offer of a drink or ten before bed. Instead he'd lain awake all night staring into nothingness and occasionally peeling himself from the man whose chest he was currently stuck to. Not that he would ever admit it, but Tony was by far the most comfortable pillow he had ever had the pleasure of sleeping on. He particularly enjoyed the fact his boyfriend also doubled as a human night-light.  
Not that Loki Odinson/Laufeyson/Liesmith was afraid of the dark.  
It just creeped him out sometimes.  
Several months ago he'd woken up to the darkness alone when Tony had slipped out of the room to continue working on something after Loki had fallen asleep. He'd screamed the tower down and insisted on spending the rest of the night curled up on the couch in the living room, every single light switched on and methodically working his way through tub after tub of cookie-dough ice cream.

But that was a completely normal and justified reaction.  
Tony had said so.  
After he'd laughed a little.  
A lot.  
And sent pictures of the disgraced God in the midst of his wallowing to the Avengers minus Thor.

But still.  
He hadn't slept a wink. His mind had occasionally wandered far enough that when he snapped himself out of it he realised that he could have been dozing. Sighing deeply, Loki rolled over until he was looking up into his lovers peacefully sleeping face, all soft lines and stubble and curved his body around until his legs lay alongside the faintly snoring head. Kissing the chest below him Loki idly traced the edges of the arc reactor as golden light began to stream into the room. He found himself becoming mildly annoyed as the yellow light slowly cancelled out the blue beneath his fingers. Groaning loudly in a subtle attempt to wake his comatose partner dark brows knitted together in frustration when the mortal refused to waken.  
Raising a leg he gently draped it across Stark's face until his thigh obscured the calm features and the breathing became more muffled causing the billionaire to wake with a start. Coughing and flailing, at his sudden inexplicable lack of oxygen Tony grabbed one pale thigh roughly and held it at arms length in a panic until he had almost folded Loki in half. It took the genius a long thirty seconds to realise what the hell was going on. Glancing down he noticed his lover smirking and toying with a strand of inky black hair, smugly waiting for his morning kiss. One disgruntled huff later and Tony had dropped the impromptu smothering device and rolled onto the slighter man, pinning the long limbs between his bulkier ones.

"I see Natasha has been teaching you some tricks. I can't help but feel that I should be concerned."  
"_Her_ teach _me_? What I do with my thighs is my own business and you just happen to have the perfect face for smothering. If your face can't handle my legs then perhaps you should pay the Widow a visit yourself and see if she can't cure you of this crippling inability."  
"That or maybe your legs just need more of my face-time?" Tony rasped as he hefted one of the tricksters lean legs over his shoulder kissing his way down from just above the knee and stopping just short of the hem of his lover's boxers. Loki let out an involuntary gasp and quickly bit down on his tongue, praying the other hadn't heard.  
"Oh babe you are too easy." Stark chuckled planting a gentle kiss against Loki's cheek as the liesmith tried to turn his head away from Tony's mocking expression. "Hey now princess. I don't want any of our other extremities getting jealous, what say we let them get re-acquainted too before we have a full blown mutiny on our hands?"  
Loki couldn't help but laugh as he was manhandled until he found himself sitting in his partner's lap, a set of perfectly whitened teeth nipping at his collarbone. Groaning happily he ran his fingers through the thick dark brown hair, pulling at it until the teeth left his neck and he could dive down to clash his own against them.

A sudden, harsh knocking at the door caused them to clink teeth painfully, Tony almost throwing the trickster from his lap.

"Hey guys the rest of us are going down for breakfast and Natasha thinks it would be best if we all went down together. You have five minutes to get ready before she says she's kicking the door down and dragging you out in whatever you're wearing regardless of whether you're actually wearing anything or not." Steve competently relayed from the other side of the door.  
"I am a God and these are my chambers, you are permitted to do no such thing! I've cut one girls hair off out of spite before now and don't think I won't do it again!" The spell caster snapped from his upended position on the bed. Untangling himself from the mess of limbs Tony leapt up and dragged the top sheet around his middle before heading over to the door. Steve yanked his face back as the slab of wood wrenched open to reveal a slightly disgruntled Stark in all his early morning splendour.

"Cap. Steve. Look at me Steve! This is serious. I am just a man. And as 'just a man' I have needs. _Needs_ Steve. Manly ones. Do you understand me?" The engineer declared as the poster boy for America tried to cover his ears with his hands and shouted something like "La La La!" whilst Tony carried on. Bruce appeared from nowhere and quirked an eyebrow, his mouth threatening to break into a grin.  
"Tony leave the poor man alone. I'll tell Natasha you're getting ready, just make your way down to the hall as quickly as possible. I can buy you maybe another ten minutes." The scientist said pushing poor Steve out of the firing line.  
"Bruce I could kiss you, but that would eat into my fifteen minutes." Tony deadpanned.  
"You still have to get dressed and make it to the hall within those fifteen minutes remember?"  
"Fine, it would eat into my fourteen minutes. I love you man, but I have to love someone else first, catch you later gamma buddy!" Tony sang as he slammed the door in his friends face. Shaking his head in amusement and mild disbelief the Zen master patted Steve on the shoulder as he made his way to Nat and Clint.

It was exactly seventeen minutes later when the lovebirds materialised before the rest of the group. Tony looked as if he hadn't quite had time to run a comb through his hair but other than that they looked perfectly presentable, if a little flustered. Natasha glowered at the man of iron who just shrugged and winked at her as he opened the doors to the hall.

Wow.

It was packed.

Every single seat at every single table was filled, despite this however the noise was only slight in comparison to the amount of bodies before them. As the team stepped into the room they felt the gaze of every man and woman lock onto them. It was disconcerting until cheers and applause rained down on them from all conceivable angles. Their greeting turned into a roar as Thor stepped forwards to guide the group to their table, though it faltered noticeably when Loki stepped forwards. In all fairness the God took it all in his stride.  
Until a tankard clocked him across the jaw that is.  
Gritting his teeth, green sparks flickering from his fingers the former prince rounded on the man who had launched it with terrifying accuracy. The _giant_ of a man smirked at his wall of companions who mindlessly rallied around their presumed leader.  
"You dare strike me, scum? I would see to it that you mind your aim lest you find yourself minus that hand." The trickster spat as the brute stepped forwards, towering well above the other God, dwarfing him under masses of bulk and muscle.  
"I would watch that silver tongue of yours, horse fucker, before I find a better use to put it to." The idiot retorted, much to the approval of half the court, though many of the snickers wilted under the icy glare Loki cast over them.  
"What did you call me?" He seethed with rapidly deteriorating self control.  
"You heard liesmith. Unless your hearing is just as defective as the rest of y-"  
"Horse fucker? HORSE FUCKER? I'll show you horse fucker you wretched amalgamation of flesh and mental incompetence!" The sorcerer raged as he charged at the giant.

As he ran his shape seemed to distort until his footsteps turned to hoof beats and what was once man now became a tonne of volatile stallion with blood on its mind. Lunging for the giant the horse reared and bucked as it tried to latch onto the mans back, biting and kicking every time the imbecilic Aesir desperately tried to fend Loki off. After a brief struggled the horse managed to hook its front legs over the mans shoulders and the crowd roared with laughter as the giant, despite all his previous displays of brawn and bravado, began to scream and beg for his companions to drag the beast off him.

"ENOUGH OF THIS."

Those three words tore through the air and stopped the struggle dead.  
"Loki you will cease this foolishness immediately. I believe your friend has learnt his lesson." The All Father bellowed from his throne.  
Even as a horse the bastard still managed to look smug as he hopped down and trotted over to his friends. Once he reached them the space around him seemed to shift and quiver until he had resumed his regular form. Arms folded across his chest and still looking unbelievably proud of himself the trickster shot a look back at the trembling behemoth and stuck his tongue out impishly before taking a seat at his table, beckoning for his comrades to do the same.

"Loki, how many times have I told you not to shape-shift at the table." Frigga chided. The sorcerer had the good grace to look faintly ashamed as he prodded unenthusiastically at the porridge in front of him with a spoon.  
"But he called me a hor-"  
"I heard what he called you. And what have we learnt about sleeping with horses and trying to force others to do the same?"  
"To not do it." Loki mumbled petulantly.  
"And why don't we do this?" Frigga continued patiently.  
"Because not everybody has the ability to stop themselves from being ripped in two."  
"…And?"  
"And because we don't want another Sleipnir, no matter how much we love him." He added sullenly, now jabbing at the offending meal as if it had personally grieved him.

After that the meal continued in relative peace, the numerous conversations around them rising to a volume loud enough to ensure their own table went largely unnoticed save for the occasional curious glance. Clint nudged Thor who sat besides him, Natasha on his other.  
"Dude, why did that sound like a conversation those two have had more than once?" The archer asked loudly enough for most of their table to hear. Loki pointedly ignored him. Thor snickered, shooting his little brother a look that held nothing but fondness and maybe even a hint of respect.  
"After Sleipnir was born many people were… cruel, for lack of a better word. It became almost routine that someone would say something during one of the meals and it would wind Loki up badly enough to cause him to turn into something and… well. You saw that for yourself. Although sometimes he merely settled for bodily harm. I remember he transformed one particularly vindictive woman into a boar and locked her in the kitchens until someone rescued her before the cooks got to her first." The Thunder God replied casually. Clint burst into laughter, closely followed by the rest of the table, Frigga and Odin included. Only the trickster remained silent, though he couldn't completely suppress the upward curve of the corner of his mouth.

Under the table he felt someone squeeze his knee tightly.  
"I am going to get you so drunk tonight and just let you loose on all these idiots." Stark breathed discreetly into his ear.  
Loki beamed.  
"Listen well lover, I am going to get so drunk tonight that after I have tormented and plagued this realm of wretches if you don't see to it that I am walking with a limp tomorrow morning I will personally destroy you. Are we both clear on that?" The silver tongue whispered back, eyes glinted madly as his partner's breath hitched indicating his acknowledgment.  
Tony grinned.  
"You're a bad person."  
"The worst."

…

Well then friends…


	21. The Mad God

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: Sheeeeet this was a long one ;) Shit my friends, is about to get messy.

…

For all his bragging and sultry words earlier, the God of Chaos now found himself in a rather dull position. Promising to get hammered was all well and good until you realised that you were the only one left to keep an eye on things. Responsibilty, a room full of people you don't know and a band of friends hell bent on making idiots of themselves had ensured that for Loki this night would be a long one.  
And Gods it was boring.

The night seemed to wear on and on, and endless cycle of drudgery and misplaced bravado, and Loki was ashamed to say that Stark was at the heart of it. Damn that mans almost inhuman tolerance to alcohol. The trickster feared for that poor liver, he truly did. After the tension during and the excitement preluding the meal, the atmosphere had lulled into something not too dissimilar to calmness. But as the former prince well knew, Asgardians were not famed for their quiet, peaceful nature. And the biggest, loudest idiot of them all had declared a celebration.  
That Golden haired bastard.

And so now they drank and sang and cheered and danced all for the saviours of the mortal realm, the men and the woman, and for Loki. The return of the lost prince, once fallen from grace and now returned to them happy and whole.  
It was enough to make the sorcerer retch.

Banner and Steve held back, hovering somewhere by the dias and avoiding the mead and wine like the plague. Sensible but predictably dull. Natasha had her hands full minding Clint, or rather Clint had a handful of Natasha and she didn't seem to mind as long as it kept the hawk close. Thor and Tony had taken it upon themselves to rouse the troops so to speak and regale the amassed Æsir with glorious, if heavily embellished, accounts of their battles on Midgard. The drink flowed and the night wore on and Loki wished for nothing more than to slink off to the library and curl up beside a mound of dusty parchments.  
Gentle fingers brushed against his arm snapping him from his daydreams. Glancing round he failed to supress a soft smile as his mother looped an arm through one of his own. Despite his happiness at their closeness his smile didn't quite reach his eyes, neither could he meet hers. There was guilt in there somewhere still and her acceptance of him hadn't dulled his shame at all about his almost disowning her once upon a time.

"What ails you little one?"  
"Nothing mother. I am happy. But you know I was never one for festivities." He said, offering her a weak smile in place of his wallowing.  
"Yet you linger on the fringes of their merriment but make no move to leave? Do not lie to me boy. I am your mother and your friend. So tell me now my sweet, what is wrong?" Her voice glistened like spun gold as she unravelled him bit by bit.  
"I am merely keeping an eye on Stark. He is after all an ambassador of Earth. It would not do to watch him cause an interplanetary incident on my watch."  
"I can see that, but you know the men and women of this realm well, even if you do not share in their temperament. You understand well that any follies made this night will be quickly laughed off come morn. So I ask again, what is the meaning for your strife?" Frigga pressed. She knew with this son it took nothing short of the patience of a saint to loosen his tongue. But she also knew if he would tell anyone of his worries, it would be her and that thought caused something within her chest to flutter.  
Loki sighed deeply, his brow creasing faintly as his silver tongue sought to transform his thoughts into something tangible.

"I should not have come here." He stated finally, the words leaving a lingering bitterness behind as they passed his lips. "This was a mistake. Another of my many follies. This place, for all your lovely words mother, is my home no longer."  
In the wake of his admission he felt her hurt. And he hated himself for causing it.  
He had inflicted upon her so much pain already.

"Those words were not spoken for the sake of sounding pleasant. They were a promise. I know the wounds we have inflicted upon you will take a long time to heal. Some may weep still for hundreds of years, thousands even, but we will be here at the end of it all, come Ragnarok, and we will await our wayward son with open arms and joy in our hearts. On my life- nay, on my role as Queen and mother I swear there will never come a day when I stop loving you. With my final breath at the end of time I will whisper your name and you will know that I have taken your memory with me, if only to bring me some small measure of comfort in death."  
"Your love, I fear, is a gift too great to bear. When I look at you, at father and hell even with Thor after all this time I see nought but the devastation I wrought upon this family. I tore apart everything I once cherished and let the memory of it die in that same void which saw me reborn as the Mad God. Do not insult my intelligence by pretending that is not what your people now call me. I have heard and seen enough to know my presence here will be barely tolerated and nothing more." The shape shifter snapped, instantly regretting the words as they fell from his mouth. Luckily the party remained in full swing and their exchange went unnoticed.

Frigga did not recoil.  
Loki held fast, his mouth twisted in guilt and anger.  
She always made him say too much.

"You are a fool, son. A bitter, stubborn, beautiful bloody fool. For once in your life allow yourself some happiness! Anthony has brought out so much good in you already and everyone can see how it has changed you. You laugh again! A sound I feared might have been forever lost to us. But he has done it, I don't know how and the Norns know I won't question it but he has _saved _you Loki. You are absolved of all your past mistakes by everyone but yourself. You look me in the eyes now and tell me that this is not what you want." She demanded, her plea ringing clear in the vastness of his mind.

Ageless eyes watched as the events within the room unfurled around him like a fairy tale spilling from the open pages of a book. Natasha and Clint held each other close, isolated in their bliss as the world spun on around them. Bruce and Steve laughed and joked, mimicking the assassins and prancing around in a mock version of the lovers dance. Thor had gathered an army of enrapt, drunken friends around him and told them such tales that he had everyone crying laughing.  
But he couldn't see Tony.  
Sweeping the room with a determined gaze he faltered at the disappearance of his partner. It was as though the life had been sucked from the room, leaving only the shallow revelries of people that, for the most part, mattered little to him. Sinking back into his despondency he turned to face his mother, defiance ready on his tongue.

"Hey gorgeous, I've missed you tonight."  
"Excuse me?" Loki startled.

Spinning the flustered mischief maker round and into his arms Tony laughed as he planted a kiss firmly against his lovers temple.  
"You've been hiding back here all night, and as much as I am loathe to steal you away from this stunning woman I simply must demand that you accompany me for at least one dance." The surprisingly eloquent engineer grinned, flashing a warm smile at the beaming queen who waved them into the crowd.  
"Stark, I was in the middle of a conversation."  
"I saw that. And I also saw how uncomfortable you were. So I thought, being a dashing genius and all that, I would whisk you away and offer you a very handsome distraction. Namely me!"  
"My Gods, does your ego know no bounds?" The sorcerer mumbled as he was whirled with alarming grace across the floor.  
"So what's up? And don't give me any of that brooding, anti-social bull shit. No wait, actually, I don't need to know. If you want to tell me you will in your own time. So c'mon and live a little!" Tony laughed as he whirled the prince around, oblivious to the alarmed stares of the Asgardians who had never seen the renegade prince so much as tap his foot in time with the music let alone _dance_.

"Thank you. For not prying I mean. I have more reason to ask what's wrong with you however; you're awfully perceptive tonight. Are you ill?" Loki teased. Tony snorted loudly.  
"Babe, I am always perceptive to your needs. So perceptive in fact that I have turned my perception of your fine self into something of an art form. You never catch me being perceptive unless I let you. Which was the case tonight. They don't call me the devastatingly good looking and intuitive Tony Stark for nothing you know."  
"They don't call you that anyway." The taller man chuckled.  
"Will you promise me something?"  
"Tony-"  
"No I'm serious. This is a serious request. Promise me you'll do this one thing for me. Well?"  
"Fine, Stark. I promise. Now what is it? It had better not be filthy."  
"Get drunk with me."  
"By the Nines man! I thought you said this was serious?"  
"It is. Really. I told you earlier I'd get you absolutely smashed. So get drunk with me. Dance with me, sing a little and laugh! Cause some chaos and pull a few pranks! Make an idiot out of me. Torment me, humiliate and degrade me I don't care just start smiling again and don't you dare stop. And when this night is over with I will drag you to bed and as much as you want to you'll be too worn out for me to ravish you."

Loki wasn't sure how to respond to that.  
So instead he let his partner guide his body around the hall until they came to a halt by the Thunder Gods side. Bumping into the burly frame, Loki found himself being hauled from the ground and seated upon a towering shoulder.  
'MY FRIENDS, BOTH OLD AND NEW, JOIN ME NOW IN A TOAST! TO MY BROTHER! THE GREATEST MAN I KNOW!" Thor hollered, his grip on the younger sibling vice like.  
There was a definite pause before the cheering started, the Avengers screamed in unison as loudly as their throats would allow, adding weight to the clamour. Loki gripped his brother's hair furiously, not that Thor noticed, as he was nearly shaken from his perch. Glaring at the crowd surrounding him his stare melted under the mass of beaming faces all chanting his name.  
He should do something.  
Something big.  
Something spectacular.  
Something decidedly _Loki_.  
Anything really as long as it stopped him from sitting there gawking like an imbecile.

Raising both hands, magic bursting into life around his fingertips, the crowd hushed, their tankards and goblets still raised in the air. With a resounding crack the hall as a whole flinched. Seconds flitted by and nothing happened, the men and women began to laugh at the failed sorcery, shrugging off their fleeting fear.  
And then they saw the trickster smile.  
The crowd followed those emerald eyes as they made their way to the ceiling. Something tore open the rafters, glistening and shining in colours that shouldn't even exist; it began to rain. Cackling loudly Loki threw back his head, mouth wide open and let the rain slide down his throat. Taking his lead Tony and the Avengers followed suit and before long the rest of the Asgardians had joined in too.  
"What is this fantastic liquid?" A random voice cried to a rumble of agreement from the press of bodies. Wiping some of the obscenely purple, green and orange droplets from his eyes the younger prince spread his arms wide, still atop his brother's shoulder and cried:  
"COCKTAILS! COCKTAILS FOR ALL!"  
"COCKTAILS!" The hall rallied.

Odin had never seen anything quite like it.  
Within the great hall itself it rained what he assumed had to be vast amounts of alcohol, shades of which almost hurt to look at, and so sweet smelling it knocked him ill. And at the heart of the delightful carnage stood his sons, looking for all the world like brothers again.  
His people roared.  
Their laughter and drunken euphoria was quite the sight to behold. In all honesty it was downright terrifying.  
But more importantly they were cheering for none other than Loki.

Buried beneath the seemingly never-ending roar of the Æsir, Tony Starks groan went unheard.  
People, Gods included, were not designed to withstand a direct onslaught from Loki's infamous cocktails.

But before he could even blink he suddenly found himself weightless and then his rump landed heavily on a bony ledge, his other half shrieking with joy besides him. After patting Thor on the head Tony grabbed one of Loki's hands and raised it into the air. The trickster barely had time to react when a pair of sticky, sweet, multi-coloured lips pressed against his own. Humming into the kiss he felt an equally sticky hand tangle itself within his hair. Gripping the stubbly face before him with discoloured fingers the liesmith broke apart for air.

"This has got to be one of your worst ideas ever Stark." He grinned, laughter bubbling up within his chest.  
"I'm not taking any of that sass from you tonight missy!" Tony grinned, lunging in for another passionate kiss.  
"Brother!" Thor yelled, his voice slightly muffled as his head was lodged somewhere between the couple atop his shoulders. "As much as I love to see you enjoying yourself, might you consider refraining from kissing friend Stark until my head is no longer stuck betwixt you?"

The Thunderer was shocked into a momentary lapse of amused silence as two pairs of tacky lips pressed themselves to either side of his bearded face noisily.  
This was not how the blonde giant had envisioned the night would go.  
And he wasn't entirely sure that it was healthy for him to be this entertained at being the Thor filling in a Tony/Loki sandwich.  
The look of complete and unabashed joy on his little brother's face as he drowned in laughter and song and the on going cheers for the trickster prince was enough to keep the future king from saying anything.

Loki was genuinely at peace in Asgard and Thor would have danced around the hall clad in nought but his helmet and Mjolnir if it would have had the same effect.

…

:B God I want a cocktail now. Also apologies for the quality of this one, I've had a lot going on and I haven't been able to refine this chapter as much as I'd have liked to, but I didn't want to leave you hanging any longer!


	22. Boundaries They Aren't For Everyone

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: This is actually leading up to something fabulous I promise ;)  
Also thank you to your continued words of encouragement! Feel free to make suggestions too by the way and I'll see if I can work some of them in! :)))

…

"I love this song."  
"Babe there's no music on."  
"Oh. Must've imagined it."  
Tony Stark laughed, and after he caught his breath, he laughed some more. His voice carried across the now almost desolate hall, only shuddering to a halt when he doubled over to clutch his aching ribs. Sitting up, crossing his legs beneath him he glanced at the table he had collapsed on. It was sticky with sickly sweet alcohol and various utensils cluttered the wooden surface except for the space that Tony and his partner currently occupied.  
Somewhere by their feet Natasha and Clint had sprawled across the floor, propping their legs up on one of the benches and seemed to be engrossed in a conversation about what was more badass; guns or bows? The rest of the Avengers had opted out of this particular debate and Steve had attempted to right Thor and Bruce who were both slumped across the dais in a blissfully inebriated mess of immortal and scientist.

"Hey Loki?"  
"Mmmm?"  
"It's not been so bad has it, tonight I mean? You know, after the horse comments and you losing your rag and everything. You've had fun right?"  
Loki appeared to ponder this a while, shutting his eyes as his tongue tried to catch up with his cocktail addled brain.  
"I made it rain and everyone liked me."  
"So is that a yes oh drunk one?"  
The trickster snickered and snuggled closer to the engineer, resting his head against the other mans bicep.  
"Yes. Thank you for making me promise to get drunk."  
"Speaking of promises, remember that one I made to get you so drunk you wouldn't be able to sleep with m-"  
"Don't spoil the moment Stark."  
"Point taken. But if you're still conscious then that surely means you'd be up for at least giving me a-"  
"I am tired."  
"You don't have to be awake…"  
"I have a headache."  
"Liar."

Loki 'hmmd' as he draped an arm casually over the chattering mouth, muffling any untoward comments his boyfriend had been in the process of voicing.

"You two are already acting like an old married couple." Natasha giggled from the floor, Steve and Tony shared a 'look'. Natasha Romanoff did _not _giggle.  
"Nat, on a scale of one to America how much do you want a threesome with Rogers?" Tony inquired offhandedly, ignoring Steve's yelp and furious bout of blushing. The Widow merely laughed, waving her hand in the super soldiers general direction. She wasn't exactly paying attention as Clint's hand had snaked its way round her waist and started gently brushing against her stomach.  
"I'd say a five or six. He's third on our list I think."  
Tony gawped.  
"You guys have a list? That is so wrong. Where am I on it? Am I first? I should be first."  
"You aren't even on that list, you're on a whole other one." Clint chuckled.  
"I get my own list? Fuck yeah! Wait, is this the sort of list that comes with a safety word?" The billionaire babbled, he couldn't tell whether he was flattered, turned on or just creeped out. Probably a healthy mix of all three. The sorcerer had shifted his attentions to the current topic of conversation after noting the Captains face which had turned an alarming shade of red.  
"Why does Tony get his own list? I am a God, surely I should be on all the lists." He interjected reproachfully.  
"Dude don't worry about it, you an Tony make up the second list. That's our foursome list. You guys are the only two on there."  
"Hawk, I know I'm the genius here, but how do Loki and I make up an entire list by ourselves, surely we're just, like, your go-to foursome fantasy right?" Stark said, wrapping an arm around the vaguely dejected and slightly swaying God by his side.  
"Well, the way we see it, what with you guys having magic and a fuck ton of 'inventions' at your disposal you could open up a whole new world of possibilities. We have some themes which include both of you, and ourselves, magically… enhanced. Those themes make up the rest of the list." Natasha explained, noting with a hazy smugness the look of astonishment and appreciation flutter briefly across the former playboys face. Loki meanwhile looked a little nonplussed.  
"Widow."  
"Yes Loki?"  
"I am not a sex toy. Let me just clarify that."  
"Never said you were. More like a sex 'aid'." Barton interrupted. "Besides, we've heard you and Tony going at it before now, those walls aren't sound proof ya know, and some of the noises you made weren't human."  
"Just in case you were somehow out of the loop again Clint, I feel obliged to remind you that I am not in fact human." The former prince chided, allowing his eyes to flash vermillion as if to punctuate his statement. The archer merely shrugged and turned to face the red head.

"Maybe we should scrap the foursome list. I guess Loki just has that really boring kind of magic that requires him to constantly have a stick up his ass. A stick that isn't Tony." Natasha nodded in agreement, watching the trickster out of one corner of her eye.  
"Let us not be too hasty in this judgement. My magic is not 'boring' in the slightest! I could have you screaming all night long should I wish it." The God huffed, crossing his arms against his chest impishly.  
"Wait, is this foursome thing really happening? Are we actually doing this? I still want to know where I am on your list. The first one. Come on. You know you want to tell me." Tony shouted suddenly, waggling his eyebrows lecherously.

Steve had decided to take up refuge on the dais next to Banner who was currently rolling around on his sides as he watched Thor try to stand up. The thunder giant was gripping the throne for dear life as his legs appeared to try and work separately from the rest of his body. It seemed safer than remaining on the outskirts of the other guys' conversation, Steve didn't think he could listen to any more without embarrassing himself. Orgies were not his forte.

After another few minutes of watching the future king struggle to his feet, the God pulled Banner up on his way past as he stormed over to the rest of the group with a reluctant Cap trailing behind.  
"Friends! The night is young yet and although the wondrous rain has cleared that is hardly a reason to stop drinking!" Thor boomed, Bruce clapping a hand over his ears as the giant pulled him closer.

"After the conversation I've just had I now have no intentions of waking up tomorrow. Or ever again in fact." Loki mumbled as he gratefully accepted a flagon of something.  
"Hit me with the good stuff big guy, let's see what you Asgardians are really made of." Tony grinned accepting his own drink. The assassins moved over to the bench and grabbed a few goblets from the table, handing one to Bruce and Steve.  
"Guys, I can't really get drunk remember, not like you lot can anyway…" Steve moped as a cup was forced into his hand.  
"Alright." Tony began. "Avengers assemble! We have a new mission straight from the Gods; get Steve royally slaughtered! If he is conscious in the morning we have _failed_ and the punishment will be severe."  
"How severe are we talking here boss?" Bruce deadpanned.  
"Should we fail, the penalty for our ineptitude will see us taking part in all our foreseeable meetings with Fury completely naked. And we have to wear pretty dresses and shit during our battles for a whole month." Stark improvised, not regretting the words in the slightest as they left his mouth. That was the bonus of being drunk and making semi important decisions, everything seemed like an amazing idea at the time.  
"Shit Tony, that's harsh. Are we sure we're up to this?" Clint asked, though he failed to keep his smirk in check, rendering his question pretty much invalid. Natasha was already mixing together something she called the 'death brew'.  
"What part of 'I am a God' do you people continuously fail to understand? I can do anything." Loki wondered aloud, suddenly clutching an umbrella-adorned flagon of blue.  
"A fine task friend Stark! A challenge truly designed to test the mettle of Gods and mortals alike!" Thor shouted, beaming madly and raising his drink to the air.  
"I fail to see how this can end well." Steve hesitated. Loki stood and patted their terrified looking leader on the shoulder shooting him a sympathetic glance.  
"Trust me Rogers, you are going to wish you were dead before this night is through. Though I dare say you'll have fun regardless. I mean, I doubt Natasha's line of questioning this time will involve anything remotely equine." The trickster offered as he threw himself onto the throne, swinging his legs over the arms and sipping his drink tentatively.

Swaggering over to his partner Tony collapsed onto the mischief makers stomach and slammed his drink down onto the thrones arm.

"Avengers. As tonights most benevolent leader I have but one command. CHUG!" Stark roared as his friends echoed their approval by downing their drinks in one.  
"ANOTHER!" Thor bellowed.  
"ANOTHER!" The group replied.  
'ALL HAIL KING LOKI!" The liesmith yelled.  
"ALL HAIL- wait, what?"  
"It was worth a shot." He muttered, throwing back his cocktail ruefully.

…

Hope you enjoyed, and I know this was a very dialogue heavy chapter, I just fancied a bit more group silliness this time round :B

Fun fact – I have actually made and drank death brew before now. That was a good night.


	23. Screwed

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: Before we start, here is a quick list of some of the alcohols possibly mentioned previously should anyone care to try them out ;)

Skittle Vodka : A bottle of vodka and a large amount of 1 colour of any skittles. Leave it for two weeks [or until all the sugar has dissolved] and you will be left with a bottle of whatever colour **and** flavour skittle vodka, depending on which colour you chose. [My own personal pref is purple ;)]  
Death Brew: This one has many different names, shit mix, dirty pint [over in the UK anyway, not sure what any other countries call it] and is basically any and all alcohol put into one glass. I once ordered a bit of everything from the top shelf of a pub and had it put into one glass. It was grey. I also do not remember the rest of that night.  
The version I took camping with me however was this: A quarter bottle of Vodka, a quarter of rum, two different types of pina colada, an entire packet of skittles [minus the purple ones that went into the vodka] and a large helping of apple sours.

So enjoy! Also – I take no responsibility for any of the consequences of anyone trying those out. :)))))

…

Somewhere along the line things had gotten a little… blurry.  
Natasha had unleashed her version of 'death brew' upon the Avengers, in her words "utilising all of the chemicals at her disposal." Loki hadn't been too sure what that meant at the time, so he'd just gone along with it and conjured up anything else she had required along the way. He was still dubious as to what she had meant hours later, but damn that drink was strong and he was in no mood to question this most glorious intoxication. Apparently neither was anyone else it would seem, though so far the only people failing to stand were Clint and Bruce, but that was no surprise.

Loki had shifted from beneath the man of iron and was now sprawled across his partner's knees, his back arched over Tony's legs so that on one side his head scraped the ground and on the other his legs splayed awkwardly to keep himself balanced. Tony had busied himself by drumming his fingers across Loki's stomach, ignoring the Gods protests that it was making him feel ill. However after several minutes of the highly inebriated deity's whinging the genius began bouncing his knees up and down instead until the trickster rolled off him, landing ungracefully in a heap on the floor.

"Sh- Stark! No need…" Loki tried to growl. Unable to push himself up he summoned his cape instead and wrapped it around his shoulders. He heard Natasha from the other side of the room laugh at his sulking and stuck a sullen tongue out at her in response.  
"So Steve ol' friend ol' buddy ol' pal of mine! How you holding up?" Tony asked, diverting the attention away from his moody other half as he slid down onto the floor and huddled up next to the other man, stealing half of the cape for himself.  
"I dunno Tony, I feel a little… weird, but I don't think I'm drunk yet." The super soldier admitted shrugging apologetically.  
"Fuck. This isn't good. I think it's time to call out the big guns. Loki, you're up. You know what to do babe."  
"Wha?"  
"Come on hot stuff, you're not that far gone yet are you?"  
"Shut up. I'm fine." Loki said, glaring at Stark down his nose. Scrambling in a manner most unbefitting a God, and with a little aid from Stark, he eventually managed to vertically align himself. Allowing his cape to drift aimlessly to the ground he shook his hands a little until they glowed faintly.  
"Brother, are you sure this is wise? You know what tends to happen to your magic whilst you're under the influence. Do you remember when-"  
"No, Thor, I don't. And I would greatly appreciate it if you would refrain from reminding me. Now hush up and let me work."

Magic sprang to life within the spell casters hands and his eyes danced with the whirrings of old magic. His tongue slid effortlessly over ancient, unintelligible words, a feat that surprised the rest of the team as slurring had already begun to impede the mischief makers speech. Grinning slightly, greenish hues casting a faintly wicked look across his features, the God clapped his hands together and when he pulled them apart a goblet appeared, hovering in the air between. Snatching up the smoking chalice in a now less than deft hand, he raised it to his nose and gave it a suspicious sniff. Sticking his tongue out in distaste he arched an eyebrow as he wandered over to Steve before thrusting the apparently repellent object into his hands.  
"Hold your breath and drink it in one. Do **not** take sips. Trust me, we only want you drunk, not dead." He added causing their captain to pale as he accepted the drink.  
"What the hell is in this? Will it kill me? And why is it smoking, drinks shouldn-"  
"Quit being such a big, genetically enhanced baby Steve, God!" Clint drawled sidling up to Natasha and pulling Bruce along too. Thor had staggered over to over see the proceedings, but in all honesty he just wanted to see what would happen next. There would be enough time for responsibility when he was king.  
"Do it. Do it Steve. You know you want too. I've had it before and look at me, I'm fine! Don't you want to be just like me Steve? Steve? STEVE?" Tony babbled excitedly, clinging to one of Loki's arms and jumping up and down like an overgrown, hyperactive child.  
"Fine, but if anything happens to me aside from getting drunk, you'll be the ones who have to deal with Fury afterwards." Rogers mumbled, raising the glass to his lips and letting the hissing liquid slide down his throat. When he had finished the glass dropped from his fingers and his hands darted to his throat as he began coughing uncontrollably.

"Shit Loki! I think you've killed him! Dibs on the shield."  
"Shut up Clint I know what I'm doing, he's absolutely fine. Aren't you Captain? Steve? Fuck. Steve?"  
"Urgh, wha? I dno wh's gon on."  
"See he's alive _and_ he's hammered. You can thank me later. Money will do just fine."  
"Babe, you are amazing." Tony laughed, planting a sloppy kiss against his lover's lips. Loki grinned and stepped away, clapping his hands together again several more of the suspicious drinks materialised before the group.  
"So, who wants some of what Steve had?" He asked cockily, taking one of the drinks and holding it against his cheek, waiting for his friends to follow suit.

One by one the Avengers claimed their poison and it was Bruce who led the toast.  
"To not remembering a damn thing come morning."  
"To not remembering!"

The world went black.

Tony remembered laughter and vomit and horseshoes and glitter when he awoke some time later. His hand ached something fierce but he was deterred from inspecting it any further when he realised a half naked God was laying on top of it. Jabbing a knee into the delicate ribs, he couldn't help but snicker at the indignant squawk that escaped the magic user as he was forced back into the land of the living.  
"Fuck, Tony, what is wrong with you?" He squeaked, massaging his side.  
"Loki, I don't remember a thing. What happened and where is everyone? Actually, sod that, where the hell are we?" He asked as he noticed their new surroundings. It smelled like sweat and horse in here. Whatever he was leaning against rumbled faintly and began to rustle. Dreading turning around, he was saved from wondering when he felt something nipping and nibbling at his hair.  
"Loki. Are we sleeping against your son?"  
Loki raised an eyebrow questioningly before casting the enormous horse a curious glance. It said a lot about their predicament that neither of them had noticed sooner.  
"Yes. We are. And how are you this morn darling?" Loki asked, leaning over and kissing the velvety snout gently.

Tony found it almost excruciatingly painful trying to remove his face from his palms, it was only at Sleipnir's incessant whickering that he removed one hand to pat the creature on the nose.  
"Good morning to you too. I don't think I can walk, do me a favour Sleipnir?"

And that was how Tony and Loki came to the great hall on horseback. The guards on duty had allowed them to pass without so much as even acknowledging their presence. The engineer had to wonder at just how uncommon an occurrence this must have been at some point for them to not even spare a second look.

The sound of hoof beats clattering against the marble floor sent tremors through Tony's skull with every clip, only for the pain to spike again with each inevitable clop. The sight that greeted him as the giant horse nudged the great doors open would have been beautiful if not for the fear that everyone could be dead.  
As if on cue Sleipnir neighed loudly, pawing at the floor to rouse the fallen troops.  
"Did you teach him that one?"  
The only response Tony received was a sly smirk.  
"OH GOD WILL SOMEBODY TURN THAT HORSE OFF?" Clint screamed clutching his head, rolling around on the floor whilst Bruce folded in on himself, whimpering quietly. Natasha sat up from beneath one of the tables and cursed fluently in Russian when her head bounced off the wooden obstruction. Crawling on her hands and knees a hellish looking Thor helped her to her feet. Squeezing her shoulder he turned to make his way to his brother, patting his nephew on the neck as he reached them.  
"Brother, as much as I love you all I fear I have seen far too much of you recently. If you need me I'll be dying a slow, painful death in my chambers."  
"Not so fast _brother_. If we have to suffer so do you. I'll only have Sleipnir drag you back anyway, that or I'll let your goats loose in your room. Again. You know how much they love the taste of your bed sheets. And your curtains, and clothes an-"  
"Point taken Loki. Now what?"

That quietened the schemer.  
Emerald eyes flitted around the room slowly taking in the chaos and devastation, finally settling on the still comatose super soldier hanging upside down from the table Natasha had most gracefully crawled from under.  
"We got Steve drunk, looks like we won the bet." He hazarded finally. Natasha had finally kicked Clint upright and was now hauling Bruce from the floor when the others joined her. Nearly falling from the horse, Tony managed to steady himself before allowing Loki to slide into his arms. Swaying dangerously, the eight legged horse graciously let the two brace themselves against his flank before he turned to leave.  
"I will speak to you later child! Good day!" Loki called after him. Sleipnir huffed something in reply.  
"Fine, sugar it is. Just say nothing of this to anyone else. Do you understand me young man?" A swish of the tail was all he was left with as his son trotted out of the hall.  
"Dearest, I don't know if you remember, hell I don't know if anyone's ever told you, but nobody but you speaks horse." Tony said softly, pulling the taller man into a hug. Loki chuckled darkly. Tony didn't comment on the bitter note he heard there.  
"I forget sometimes. He is such an intelligent boy after all, that I occasionally fail to remind myself that nobody else is intelligent enough to understand him."  
"If it'd make you feel any better I could try to learn horse? Gods know I've attempted stranger things." The sorcerer startled slightly at that.  
"You really would wouldn't you?" He muttered quietly, a gentle smile toying with the edges of his lips. "Thank you for offering Tony, but I fear that would be nigh on impossible, though if you would wish it I could ask him if he would commune with you in a more… indirect method?"  
"It sounds dirty when you say it like that, but do go on."  
"Really Anthony. I am appalled. Sleipnir can talk to people, but not through conventional means. I suppose you humans would call it telepathy? Granted it is a similar phenomenon, but he does not choose to share this talent with everyone. I could ask him though, if perhaps he'd be willing to share it with you?" Loki said, a vague uncertainty tainting his words.

Tony quickly realised that this was probably the first time anyone had ever thought to ask if they could attempt to talk to the trickster's son, the thought saddened him more than he was willing to admit.  
"I'd like that a lot. Now come on, let's see if we can't figure out what the hell happened last night." He suggested, diverting their attentions to the ruined hall around them.  
Tables, benches and one of the thrones had been overturned, the floor was littered in what looked like tiny shreds of paper and Mjolnir lay discarded on top of Odin's throne next to Loki's helmet and various parts of Tony's Iron Man suit.

Part of him just wanted to walk away now and never question it, but that damned aching in his arm was something he really wanted to get to the bottom of.  
They also needed to check to see if Steve was still breathing.

…

The fun and games are only just beginning. Tony might just regret ever waking up that morning.


	24. In Hindsight

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: This is what it's all been building up to friends :) That's not to say however that this is the end of the story, so worry not! This is merely the end of the Asgard saga. It's also my longest entry into this series so far, so yayy! I really hope you enjoy! And I might not be updating for a couple of days because one of my friends is visiting, so I hope this tides you over until then!

…

"So Cap's not dead. That's good right?"  
"I'm not so sure Tony. You really think you're going to walk away from this in one piece don't you?" Bruce asked, shaking his head in disbelief. Tony merely shrugged and grinned before slapping Clint away who had taken to prodding their Captain with the end of his bow.  
"Big and green's right man. This is kind of all your fault." The archer added as he flopped down onto a bench Thor doing the same next to him, the wood groaning alarmingly beneath the Gods bulk.

"Whoa there! Hey now, friends." Tony yelped, stepping ever so slightly away from the sleeping war hero. "This is so totally not my fault. I mean Loki was the one who conjured that death drink up in the first place! And Natasha, wasn't it you that spent nearly an hour mixing various lethal Russian concoctions together and making him down them? So you know, I fail to see why I'm the one taking the rap for this." He argued, folding his arms across his chest defensively.  
"Do not try and pin this on me Stark. This was your ingenious plan from the start. I merely did what was asked of me. Anyway, the rest of us drank my cocktail too and we're almost fine now." Loki said.

"You call that hissing, spitting, smoking poison of chaos and bile a _cocktail_? Dude that's so wrong."  
"Shut up Clint. I don't recall having heard any complaints from you whilst you were climbing the rafters looking for a nest."  
"A vantage point, I was looking for a _vantage point_!" The Hawk whined.  
"Now Loki, if we're going to bring up embarrassing drunken endeavours I feel it would only be fair of me to remind the group of how you attempted to saddle Tony and ride him like a pony. The key word there however being 'attempted' seeing as he ended up forcing you into your helmet, jumping on your back and making you, his 'trusted horny steed', charge straight into Banner claiming the Bronies needed to be together during this moment of triumph." Natasha pleasantly interjected. The God clenched his jaw shut, a scarlet hue marring his cheeks whilst the others tried desperately to contain their laughter.  
"Come to think of it I do vaguely recall crashing into Bruce-y. That probably explains why my hand hurts like a bitch this morning." Tony laughed, offering Bruce an apologetic smile, his fellow scientist shrugged it off and grinned sheepishly.  
"Wait. Did you just say your hand hurts? Mine has been causing me much grief all morning yet I do not recall injuring myself during the night." The liesmith said, his brow creasing as he tried against his better judgement to recall some more of the previous nights events.  
"Hey, does anyone know why I'm wearing a flower in my hair?" Clint interrupted suddenly, his fingers unhooked the flower from behind his ear and he held it out, silently willing someone to take it from his hands.  
"What the hell. Where did you even get this thing from, there isn't anywhere around here that even had flowers like that lying around." Bruce said taking the flower and holding it up to the light to get a better look.  
"That particular strain of flower does not even bloom here on Asgard, it's a Midgardian breed for sure." Loki commented as Bruce turned the fragile, pale violet thing over in his fingers.

"Why is everyone looking at me?" Loki asked, taking a quick step backwards as all eyes snapped to him.  
"Who else has the ability to conjure otherworldly plants on a whim?" Tony snarked, earning himself an emerald eyed glare for his troubles.  
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaay!" Yelled the ranger.  
"Thank you so much Barton for that enlightening observation. Was it not you who spent the night wearing it however?"  
"Fuck you Loki. Fuck you."  
"Eloquent as always my dearest Hawk."  
"Now, now children. Calm yo' tits. Let's try and work this out rationally." The engineer shouted, placing his hands behind his back as he began to pace the length of the hall. "So we all got drunk, including Steve who still hasn't woken up but who is still breathing. At some stage I rode Loki like a horse, not in the dirty way, and claimed him, myself and Bruce were Bronies. Clint tried to make a nest again and woke up with a flower in his hair. Also, for some unbeknownst reason, my armour and most of Loki's clothing is just chilling over by the throne next to Thor's hammer. And none of us can piece any of those things together. Really guys, come on! Work with me here people!" He ended, raising his arms above his head in mock desperation.

He was met with silence.

His feet continued to carry him until he came to a halt in front of the throne.  
Something about this felt awfully familiar.  
"Loki c'mere."  
Sensing no point in refusing the trickster made his way over and stopped just short of his partner.  
"What is it Stark? There is obviously little else we can do now save getting some rest before we head home."  
"Babe just come here." Tony said, grabbing Loki's arm to pull him closer. As soon as their limbs connected however the two yelped loudly, Loki stumbling backwards and Tony catching his foot on the dais and landing painfully all over his armour.  
"Guys what the shit? That was the most pathetic reaction to an electric shock I've ever seen."  
"Clint…" Bruce said slowly. "I don't think that was your average shock. Look."

Both men's arms had begun glowing faintly, blue and gold runes pushed against the surface of the skin before gradually fading away leaving nothing but a tingling sensation in their wake.  
"Brother." Thor managed, his eyes comically wide and his mouth agape. Loki didn't appear to be taking this all too well either.  
"By Yggdrasil's roots please tell me Thor that this isn't what I think it is." The silvertongue stuttered.  
"I… I am unsure brother. I remember little of- Oh."  
"What is 'oh'? I demand to know what 'oh' means! Tell me now!"  
"Odin is going to end us."

Tony was in no mood for all of this mystery and intrigue.

"Guys, seriously, do you mind filling the rest of us in on what's going on here? Is it serious? I swear if you've hexed me again Loki I will bind and gag you and leave you strung up naked in an alleyway somewhere."  
"Shit. Oh shit I think I remember." The Widow stammered, her face threatening to split into something very reminiscent of one of Stark's infamous 'shit eating grins'.  
"Am I going to die?" Tony asked honestly.  
"You might when you find out exactly what you did."  
"What did we do?" The genius squeaked.  
"Let me put it to you this way, which do you prefer out of the two; Loki Stark or Tony Odinson?" She grinned wickedly.

This wasn't happening.  
Tony Stark, notorious playboy, sexual deviant and philanthropist extraordinaire was not married. It didn't matter that luckily he'd accidentally managed to marry the man he loved, he just wasn't ready for this. This was big. It was _marriage_. It was all little houses in suburbia and pies cooling on the window from here on out. Shit, fuck, no! Oh Gods he was-

"Tony. Tony snap out of it damn you!"

A sharp swipe across his cheek that left the quickly reddening flesh stinging afterwards jolted him out of his internal panic.  
"What…?"  
"You blacked out." Loki said softly, unable to meet his lovers eyes.  
"Ah. Um… I probably could have handled that better. Sorry."  
"Don't be. Apparently I blacked out too. I just woke up sooner. For some reason none of them wanted to hit you. I can't understand why."  
Tony blinked.  
And then barked out a laugh. Cupping the angular face with both of his hands he pressed his lips to the startled mischief makers mouth and pressed their foreheads together when they pulled apart.  
"We are so fucking awesome it hurts."  
"You are taking this surprisingly well Stark. This concerns me greatly. If you are going to have a breakdown of sorts I would prefer to not be around whilst you fall to pieces if it's all the same with you." Loki added as he shuffled away from his partners clutches.  
"No you caustic bastard, I am not in the middle of a breakdown. I probably should be, but I'm not. I mean, yeah we're married now, but I bet that counts for shit on earth. I think we can get away with it."  
"Are you saying you do not wish to be wed to me?" The trickster queried, his voice cracking ever so slightly. So slightly that maybe only Tony noticed. But there was an amount of emotion hidden beneath those words that he hadn't expected.

…

"Do you want to be my wife?" Tony heard himself ask, unable to rid the shock from his voice. Loki nibbled his lip and fiddled with a strand of hair instead of replying. "… Loki? Come on. We're married now. You kind of have to tell me everything. That's like, the law or something."  
"Idiot. That's not how marriage works at all." The sorcerer snapped feebly.  
"Oh and you would know? Come on then, astound me with your first hand knowledge of marriage and all the ins and outs of it."  
"Hush, you know what I meant. You have yet to answer my question however. Also I am not your wife."  
"Hey now wifey, don't take that tone with me."  
"Stark answer the damn question."  
"Fine. Well. This is awkward. I hadn't really planned anything like this, I mean I was kind of ok with just letting whatever it is we had just, you know, continue. But I've already told you that I love you and you've said the same to me. And even though I know you can occasionally be pre-disposed to lying, I think I've gotten to know you well enough to realise whether most of what you say is the real deal or not. And that counts for something. I think. So I guess what I'm trying to say is… Yes. Yes I am glad I accidentally married you."  
Loki finally raised his eyes to meet his boyfr- husbands.  
"I think I am glad too." He whispered with a small smile.

"Hate to break up this amazingly fucked up honeymoon so soon but what the hell guys? What does this even mean now? Are you two going to stay married or what?"  
"Subtle, Clint." Bruce growled nudging his teammate roughly in the ribs.

"As Tony said, nobody on earth will know about this incident. And I doubt it would be classed as an official marriage anyway unless we followed through with one of your Midgardian ceremonies. I believe that this is enough for now." The trickster smirked as Tony pressed their mouths together.  
"Didn't we say earlier that the two of you already acted like an old married couple?" Natasha chuckled.  
"Wait that's it! That's how it all started! Natasha you're a genius!" Bruce exclaimed suddenly slamming his fist into his palm. "We started laughing about it again when they began arguing over something stupid like Loki's hips. We said it'd be funny if they actually got married because then they'd have an actual reason to bicker like that!"

Again the hall slipped into silence as each of the Avengers slowly began to recall the events leading up to the spontaneous betrothal.

_"Shit Bruce, would you be my best man or something?"  
"Sure thing Tony, I'd be honoured! I know we don't really have time for a stag do so here's some shots of something, let's just do 'em quick." Bruce said as he threw his drinks back watching with a hazy grin as Tony did the same.  
"Loki you need a maid of honour!" Natasha informed the trickster before adding a rather desperate "Pick me, pick me!" Her pleas punctuated by her jumping up and down on the spot whilst waving an arm in the air.  
"Miss Romanoff, would you be my maid thing?" Loki asked with as much sobriety as he could muster. The Widow squealed loudly and continued to bounce around.  
"You need a bridesmaid too! Clint! Come here, you're going to be a bridesmaid!"  
"Awesome dude. I always wanted to be a bridesmaid." He slurred, snickering as Loki conjured up a bouquet of flowers, removing one and placing it behind the archers ear, handing the rest to the red head.  
"Perfect!" The bride to be grinned as he clapped his hands together excitedly._

_"Wha 'bout me!" Steve whined. Loki placed his hands on his hips and tried to scrutinise the super soldier out of one eye, having both open at the same time made everything... dizzier._  
_"I've got it!" The groom shouted suddenly, clapping Steve on the back. "Seeing as Thor's the one carrying out the ceremony why don't you walk Loki down the aisle?"_  
_"I would like that very much Captain." Loki said offering his arm to the blonde soldier. Steve accepted it graciously and the two took up their positions._  
_"Wait! Hold up! We've forgotten, like, the most important thing!" Natasha practically screamed, stumbling as quickly as she could to the bride. She whispered something into the raven haired mans ear and he listened intently, nodding occasionally. With a flick of his wrists the assassin's hands filled themselves with bits of brightly coloured confetti, she bounded over to Clint and thrust half of it into his hands before aligning themselves either side of the makeshift aisle._  
_Another wave of his hand saw a fairly plain, shift like dress cover the younger Gods top half, though his leather pants and boots remained. Almost as an afterthought he magicked on his helmet too._

_"Bruce! Help me into my suit!" Tony panicked, only having managed to get one of his legs covered in the armour. It took them several minutes and much swearing before he made a semi presentable Iron Man._

_"You guys ready? Let's get this show on the road!" Bruce cheered._  
_Slowly, and as steadily as possible, Steve escorted Loki down the 'aisle' as Natasha and Clint both mockingly dabbed at their eyes and pretended to weep tears of joy. When the two reached the dais Bruce pulled Steve to one side and Tony removed Loki's helmet, placing it on the floor besides their feet._

_"Welcome friends and future family." Thor boomed merrily, wobbling slightly in front of the throne._  
_"As future King of Asgard and overseer of the Nine Realms I hereby give my blessing unto Loki Odinson/Laufeyson and Tony Stark as they bind themselves to an eternal contract of love and commitment. In this room, in this moment, with the noble Avengers as witnesses let the heavens behold the union of my beloved brother and my dear friend and welcome them both into the family anew as husband and… husband. And now if the two in question would like to speak their vows."_

_Loki snorted loudly, shattering the almost sombre attitude as Stark swayed back and forth before him._  
_"Loki, babe, you are fantastic. I mean that. You are literally the prettiest thing ever. You have the most amazing cheekbones I have ever seen and if I didn't know you were a weird alien God I'd swear they weren't human. You're also really, really sexy. Did I mention how pretty you were? Oh and you're funny and smart and when you threaten me with death it's kinda hot 'cause you actually might do it!"_

_Loki giggled and grabbed the shorter mans shoulders to stop himself from falling over._  
_"Tony, you are one of the most inffre- insufferbrb- annoying people I have ever met. You're always covered in oil and grease and you always get me drunk and make me do silly things. But you are attractive and intelligent for a mortal. You can also use big words and actually understand them. And your face! I like that too."_

_Thor beamed blearily at them and held Mjolnir at arms length._  
_"If you would place your hands on my hammer," the assembled Avengers all dissolved into childish fits of giggling and snickering at that, "and we will commencing with the binding."_  
_Tony wrestled briefly with one of his arm guards until it clattered noisily to the ground. As the two men placed then their hands on the ancient weapon a host of shimmering runes began to flicker along their arms. Their friends watched in awe as the magic danced across their skin, flaring brightly in a culmination of brilliant blue and gold tinged hues before disappearing._  
_"If you think of your partners name whilst touching Mjolnir it will become magically engraved into your skin for all time." Thor continued. "And now I pronounce you husband and wife! I mean, husband and husband." He corrected quickly, waiting until the two had finished making out before scooping the newly weds up into a bone breaking embrace._

_Their friends hollered and cat called and whistled and cheered, rushing over to the bride and groom and gathering them into a beautiful, blindingly drunk group hug, confetti blossoming in the air around them._

"As far as weddings go, I think we might've out done ourselves." Tony chuckled to his husband after the scene had played out in his head. Loki grinned as he raised his hand up to his eyes. Thinking on their vows a string of letters began to flourish along the top of his hand, he shielded it quickly from the others prying eyes and bit down on his tongue to stop himself from snorting.  
"What does it say? How did you do that! I want to see mine too!" Tony demanded, raising his own hand to his face. Staring intently at the back of his hand he jumped when words began to form there. Thrusting his hand behind his back he took one look at Loki and the two fell about laughing.  
"What's so funny about your names?" Bruce asked, casting a sidelong glance at Clint and Natasha who only shrugged in response.

"As far as I am aware Tony's real name is not in fact 'Wretched Idiot Mortal'."  
"And I am _fairly_ certain I didn't marry a man named Reindeer Games."

"Typical." Bruce laughed. "We trust you with some of the oldest, most ancient magic in the universe and you guys still manage to make a joke out of it."  
"Say Loki, where did your dress end up? You've been walking around in your pants and boots all morning and I didn't see you enter the hall wearing it." The Widow piped up.  
"You probably left it in the stables. Maybe Sleipnir kept it to commemorate the event?" Tony suggested. Loki could only choke out a half sob half laugh in response, burying his face in his husbands chest.  
"Why the stables? Why did we spend our wedding night with my son?" He cackled, his voice slightly muffled against Tony.  
"Darling I expected nothing less from us. He didn't seem particularly shocked though, so either you've made a habit of marrying strange men and taking them back to his stables or we managed to keep it PG-13."

Loki continued to half weep and half cackle as Tony held him close.  
He had never expected to actually marry the man of iron, but in hindsight, he couldn't say he would have expected it to happen any other way.

That wasn't to say however that he wasn't loving every single second of it.  
And seeing his husband smiling made him think that perhaps the feeling was mutual.

…

I will update in a few days but as I said I'm gonna be a bit busy so I await your reviews with bated breath! :D Really hope you like it!


	25. Parting Gift

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N – Sorry for the massive delay, my friend stayed over for a few days which was awesome and definitely contributed to the lateness. I was meant to upload last night however but my housemate and I had to take the other housemate to hospital and we were there until about 2 in the morning :( Everything's fine now, thankfully it was nothing serious but then today it was my turn to feel like shit so I added a bit more to this chapter in an attempt to make it up to you guys! Hope ya enjoy :)

…

So he was married now.  
Officially.  
On one planet at least.  
An alien planet.  
An alien Viking planet.  
To a God. Specifically to the God of lies, mischief and fire.

Tony wondered if there was something fundamentally wrong with him as he watched in thoughtful silence as his brand new husband busied himself packing their things in a futile attempt to stave off his hangover. The taller of the two had spent the better part of an hour folding and unfolding dirty clothes, then scowling at them as if they'd caused him some personal grievance before finally throwing them into the closest bag.

Tony would've offered to help but he'd only end up being told he was doing it wrong anyway. It was just easier to let the sorcerer get on with it.  
Still. It was boring. He had a better way to waste time in mind.  
"You know what would go great with this whole moment we're having right now? Sex."  
"And do you know what I could go for right now Stark? You shutting the fuck up."  
Tony gasped theatrically and threw his hands into the air.  
"Such profanity Mr Laufey!- wait. What do I even call you now?"

That gave the trickster reason enough to pause. Abandoning his tidying he threw himself onto the bed in an ungainly heap, raising himself up on one elbow he levelled his husband with one of his best 'blank stares'. Nothing freaked Tony out quite like it. And true enough within seconds the engineer was fidgeting and squirming beneath the jade scrutiny.

Unable to withstand the silent treatment any longer, whether intentional or otherwise, Tony dove onto the mattress practically on top of the leaner figure, earning him a surprised 'oof' and a low growl.  
"Come on princess, we need to figure this one out."  
"Are we honestly required to have this discussion now? I am not feeling especially radiant as you may well have guessed and this is not something I wish to deliberate on hung over."  
"Now's as good a time as any. You know what we're like when it comes to putting off dealing with things we'd rather not have anything to do with. Like the time the guest bedroom en suite flooded and we spent a week ignoring it until the floor below flooded. That reminds; ban Clint from all of the tower bathrooms. Next time he decides to flush some incriminating evidence and use his bow as a plunger he can do it in hi-"  
"I do believe we were in the middle of a serious discussion were we not Tony?"  
"Oh right, names, yeah. So… What do you want to do?"

Loki sighed deeply, closing his eyes as he pulled one of his bedmates arms around him. Wriggling deeper into the embrace until he was comfortable he sighed again into the engineers neck, his breath hot against the tanned skin.  
"I don't know." He admitted after a while. Tony rested his chin on the top of his partner's head and let the other man mull it over. "If we are to shield the truth from the rest of the Midgardian populace then surely it makes more sense to leave things as they are."  
"Yeah, I guess it does."  
"And yet you do not sound so certain…"

Tony grunted and wrestled the angular face closer to him, muffling the silver tongues words before he started dancing too close to the truth.  
"Whatever you want Loki, it's your call. We both know you'll have the final say anyway don't we?" The genius chuckled as he kissed the black hair gently. The God pushed himself free of his confinement and turned to look his lover in the eyes. Tony tried, and failed, to avoid it.  
He prepared himself for a smart rebuke or sassy comeback.

"Do I really come across as that egomaniacal that you would honestly believe I would do that?" Was all he heard in response.

He hadn't expected that.  
Not those words from that person. With none of the trademark sharpness and edge, just a slightly defeated little question, it sounded so strange on the liesmiths lips.  
"Of course not Loki! Gods, I just meant- I don't know. I mean, I just want to know what you want out of this. Whatever makes you happy. As long as it isn't Tony Liesmith. That's not the sort of monicker to earn you many friends in the business sector. Or any sector to be honest with you."  
"Oh, really? Because that was the one I was really leaning towards." The mischief maker said, sarcasm dripping from every word, a slight grin gracing his lips.  
"I am sorry Tony. I know you did not mean for me to take what you said to heart. But for all your fretting over me just answer me this; what do _you_want. Ignore me for a moment, if that is at all possible, and just tell me what you want me to say. Please?"

Tony groaned.  
"You know what you do to me when you beg." He groused. "I'm not sure what I want. I guess I'm just still kind of getting used to this whole marriage thing. And if I'm being perfectly honest with you? I kinda don't want to hide this when we get home. I'm not ashamed of marrying you, a bit surprised, but never ashamed. So I guess what I'm trying to say is… I'd actually kind of really like it if you took my last name. But I won't be hurt if you don't want to. I know you Asgardian types set a lot of store by names, it's kind of like your whole identity; "Thor Odinson, God of Thunder", "Loki Liesmith, God of Mischief". So it's all down to you, and whatever you decide on I'll be happy with it as long as you are too."

Now it was Loki's turn to groan.  
Dropping head onto his partners shoulder he nuzzled the shorter mans neck, grazing the skin there with his nose.  
"You are far too insightful for your own good lover. You are right however, as usual." He said, a little more bitterly than he had intended. "I have many names and titles, the majority of which are negative ones. But they are _my_ names and I wear them with pride. It would be hard to see them go… But never doubt this; I would also gladly wear the name Stark with pride too. So perhaps whilst I mightn't use it exclusively, I _would still_ use it. It would make me happier than you know to hear you calling me that over any other title. So can I offer you this, even though I know it is not what you hoped for?" The trickster asked, cursing himself inwardly for his stupidly misplaced sense of self-worth and stubbornness.  
It was just a name.  
So why couldn't he give his husband that one thing after Tony had already given him so much?  
"Babe, just knowing that you would take my name is more than enough, trust me. So _Mr. Stark_, what's say we let this bed off with a final farewell before we leave?" He smarmed as he rolled the lanky figure over onto his stomach, trailing kisses down the soft, pale skin of his neck and across his shoulder blades before falling into the curvature of his spine. The sorcerer's breath hitched as he felt rough, leathery hands slide down his sides, tugging at the waistband of his pants. Arching his back he leant deeper into the kisses raining down on his flesh, grinning madly when Tony slid his hands further-

"GUYS. GUYS COME ON! Natasha says we have to get a move on. She also says you were meant to be ready an hour ago. Guys? Are you even in there? Guuuuuuuys, come onnnnnnnn. We all wanna go home! Come on open up!"

"Oh hell no."  
"Now dearest, please try to refrain from killing-"  
"CLINT! You featherbrained idiot! We were just in the middle of _something rather important_. I am sure you can wait a while yet! Go and entertain yourself, there are plenty of chickens for you to cavort and play with."  
"Dude, that was unnecessarily harsh. I'm just the messenger. Take it up with 'Tasha if you're that bothered. Also can I get a 'COCKBLOCKED' all up in here?"  
"Hawk, he's coming for you. Run, Clint RUN!" Tony yelled, clutching his sides as he rolled around on the bed, his laughter ringing in the ears of the Mad God who was now sprinting to the door.

One hour, several stitches, three arrows, several ice spikes, four avengers and a bit of Mjolnir later and Loki had temporarily abandoned his attempts to maim the archer. The aforementioned marksman now sported a rather grisly scar above his left eye which the spell caster had refused to heal, although Loki had _somewhat grudgingly_ admitted it was merely a flesh wound and nothing serious.  
"Guys, is it me or are we still missing someone?" Tony asked as his husband stalked back to their room to get changed.  
"Yeah, Cap's gone getting washed up before we head out." Bruce grinned.  
"And uh, scale of one to Freedom, how much does he want me dead?"  
"It was a ten. But when I told him that he'd helped you and Loki get married I think it went down to a four."  
"I can work with four. He's usually on five or six with me at any given time."  
"Actually it's six all the time, eight when you're really pushing it." A sheepish voice chuckled from round the corner.

Rubbing his head their captain joined his teammates and was offered many a sympathetic look.  
"Next time you guys have the bright idea to get me drunk, just do me a favour and kill me first ok?"  
"Sure thing Cap. So er, no hard feelings right?" Tony hesitated, edging away slightly just in case.  
"Nah, it was kind of my fault for letting you anyway. Besides, from what I've heard congratulations are in order. Though I'm not sure if we should start making the funeral preparations now or…"  
"Hey! Loki and I have decided that we're pretty chill about this whole marriage thing. We've been talking about it and I don't even think we'll bother keeping it a secret."  
"Somehow I don't think Fury's going to be too pleased about that." Bruce mumbled, shooting the man of iron an apologetic look.  
"Fury can shove it, it's not his call. If we want to announce that we're married we will do. He can't stop us."

"That is right. I do what I want after all. And if the good Director wants to keep the Helicarrier snake free this time he will not stand in our way." Loki voiced as he rematerialized besides his partner.  
"I love it when you use thinly veiled threats to defend our stupid drunken mistakes."  
Loki threw a large hold all into his husbands arms and pecked him lightly on the cheek before continuing.  
"We should hurry to the stables, I believe my parents and the others are already awaiting our arrival on the bifrost. Besides, I would very much like to say goodbye to my son. And apologise."  
"That's the most sensible thing I've heard all day. Why did you have to go and spoil it?" Tony laughed as he nudged the God out of the way.

Bruce sighed.  
He could already feel a migraine trying to muscle in on his hangover. That wedding would be the death of them.  
Though he couldn't help but feel a little chuffed that he'd been made best man.  
Damn fine job he'd done of it too.  
Shame it was likely to get him killed now.

The rainbow bridge gleamed beneath the group as they bid farewell to the King and Queen. Thor allowed his mother to fuss over him and it didn't seem to bother the future king that Frigga's nagging in front of his friends was costing him some serious cool points. Loki had taken it upon himself to give Sleipnir the exact same treatment, except the horse even managed to look embarrassed as his mother hugged him and made him promise to keep safe and be home before it got dark and to not talk to any strangers, no matter how much sugar they had.

The poor creature shot Tony such an imploring look that the engineer felt obliged to steer his husband away from him and towards their friends.

"Wait, Tony!" Frigga called behind him. "Here, from Odin and I. Congratulations by the way." The queen winked conspiratorially as she handed over a small wooden box. "Promise me that you will not open this until the two of you make your vows in earnest however." She added with a wink. The engineer couldn't help but flush a little at that though he managed to hide it well.  
"Um, thanks I guess. I should warn you however that I'm really bad at doing what I'm told so I'm just letting you know now that I'll probably end up opening this before we reach earth." Tony said, turning the small box over and over in his hands, shaking it occasionally as he tried to work out just what in the hell was in it. Considering the extensively detailed, intricate carvings on the box he'd have to guess it was a pretty serious present. Probably an heirloom of some sort.  
"No Tony, you won't. Trust me on this." His mother in law laughed, pulling him into a quick embrace before the mortal had a chance to make a hasty retreat.  
"Loki told me that you had some weird fortune telling powers… How long have you been planning on giving this to me exactly?" He asked with a wry grin, Frigga merely returned the expression and pushed him away from her and towards the rest of the somewhat impatient looking Avengers.

Stepping into formation with the rest of his team, the bifrost flared into life and as he stepped through the portal he felt a hand snake its way into his. He felt the hum of ancient magic stir within his arm and that told him everything.  
But to be honest, he didn't need magic to tell him it was Loki holding his hand.  
Tony didn't know anyone else with hands as inappropriately chilly as his trickster's.

After a short while of space and time not acting as space and time should, the group landed on the roof of HQ and promptly set about returning to their beds where they could wallow in peace. And with plenty of painkillers on standby.  
It was only after the newly weds had collapsed across their own bed that they both let out a long, weary sigh that neither realised they'd been holding.  
As soon as they glanced at each other they began to grin.  
Tony wriggled over to his lover and rested his head against the others stomach, allowing long, lithe fingers to comb absentmindedly through his hair.  
"Well that went well. Right babe?"  
"I suppose so… I cannot say everything went exactly as planned, but then again when has anything in either of ours lives ever happened as we expected?" The trickster chuckled.  
"So do you have any idea what's in this box? I am dying to find out, but your mother said not to open it until… Well, not for a while yet anyway."  
"Just put it in the wardrobe or under the bed, you'll forget about it soon enough. You know what you're like."  
"Oh like you're not in the least bit curious too?"  
"I am, but I know better than to go against my mother's orders. Believe me, it is a painful experience and one I wish to never experience again."  
"You aliens are crazy."  
"You mortals are trying, to say the least. Now are you going to lie around all evening or are you going to get up and actually do something productive?"  
"I was going to lie around and do nothing, but now that you mention it wifey there is something I should be doing instead."  
"And pray tell what that is exact- unf!"

"Incoming message for Mr Laufeyson."  
"Damn it J.A.R.V.I.S. we're a little busy here! You can add Stark to the ever growing list of his last names too by the way."  
"Congratulations then sirs, but there is another message for Mr Laufeyson/Stark. Should I display them sir?"  
"Send them to my phone J.A.R.V.I.S. and I'll check them later." Loki mumbled as his partner tried to up the pace despite the barrage of messages.  
"You appear to have ano-"  
"Just check them Loki!" Tony all but screamed, burying his face into a pillow as Loki rolled over to check his phone. Pulling it from the bedside drawer he tapped the screen and snickered quietly as he scrolled through the messages.

_'Sent from Natasha Romanoff  
to Pepper Potts and Loki Laufeyson_

_Urgent._  
_Meet me tomorrow at 0900 hours in the HQ kitchen._  
_Wear flats.'_

_'Sent from Natasha Romanoff_  
_to Pepper Potts and Loki Laufeyson_

_Participation – Mandatory'_

_'Sent from Natasha Romanoff_  
_to Loki Laufeyson_

_Also, keep the noise down you two._  
_It's distracting.'_

Quickly tapping out a reply Loki threw the phone back into the drawer and clambered onto his husband, straddling the shorter mans hips.  
"I do believe we have been given clearance to continue, we have however also been warned to keep the noise down. Apparently the sounds of us… enjoying ourselves, makes it somewhat difficult for others to enjoy their own acts of debauchery. And they aren't even on the same floor." The trickster purred.  
"We both know that you're the screamer in this relationship." Tony chided.  
"I shall not dignify that with an answer."  
"Bet you'll prove me right with a scream though." The engineer grinned as he closed the distance between them.

…

:B What's in the box you say? Not telling durr hurr!


	26. Courtesy Of Stark

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: I've been waiting for this :3

…

Peeling himself reluctantly from the comfort of his lover's embrace and the seemingly endless folds of bed sheets, Loki clambered out of bed and abandoned his clothes somewhere along the way to the bathroom. Switching on the shower he pressed his head against the cool, damp tiles as warm water streamed down his back. The prince moaned slightly as all the tension in his shoulders just seemed to melt away. After half an hour of avoiding the world he decided he'd better leave before he set up permanent residence under the liquid magic.

Tony was out like a light.

As Loki pulled on his jacket, finally ready to leave, he hesitated for a moment and wondered whether or not to give his partner a kiss goodbye. It seemed awfully domestic. Even if they were technically married.  
Instead he settled for hiding every single pair of his husband's pants in various locations around the second floor with a wave of his hand.

Pepper was already seated at the breakfast bar when Loki sauntered into the kitchen, she smiled at him over her coffee and gestured to another Starbucks cup on the side.  
"I got you a tea, hope that's ok. I'm not sure how you like your coffee."  
"Pragmatic as ever Ms Potts." Loki grinned as he gratefully accepted the drink. It was sweet, disgustingly so. Perfect.  
"Seeing as the woman in question hasn't arrived yet I'm guessing you have no idea what's going on?" The red head asked as Loki sat down besides her. He shook his head and took another sip of his drink, glancing at the time as he pulled out his phone and checked the texts from the previous night.  
"I honestly have no idea. I can't help but feel slightly concerned."  
"I know the feeling. The last time she sent me a message like that I think it ended with me crying and laughing into a toilet and wearing my stilettos on my hands."  
"That sounds horrifying. Any chance of us making a quick escape?"  
"This is Nat we're talking about."  
"Ah."  
"Good morning ladies!" An enthusiastic voice sang from the door.

Loki and Pepper shared a look.

"So. Plan of action for today." Natasha began, swiping up another drink that Pepper had acquired earlier from the counter. "We are going to hit the high street, shop, talk and try nice things on. Hell we might even buy something. Then we are going to have a girly night in, wine and dine and end the night in a bar. Any questions?"

The Widow's unwitting accomplices stared dumbly at her for a long while before both raising their arms. Natasha huffed and gestured for Pepper to speak first.  
"Why?" The bemused PA asked.  
"Why not?"  
"I have work, meetings, running Tony's company for him, going over contracts, arranging and more often than not attending those meetings in place of-"  
"And this is exactly why you need a day off. Look at you! When was the last time you just kicked back and relaxed?" The assassin laughed.  
"This isn't like you at all. Usually you just send me a text and then turn up to my place five minutes later and drag me out. This is weird. This is like what normal people do. What's wrong?"  
"Nothing is wrong. I just wanted a ni-"  
"I agree with Pepper. What is going on Widow?" Loki interrupted, still looking nonplussed.  
"… Fine. I'm being shipped out on a mission next week. Depending on how things go I could be out there a while. Can't give you the details, you understand, but believe me I am not going to be living in the lap of luxury while I'm there." Natasha shrugged, taking another sip of her coffee.  
Pepper sighed.  
"Well, now that I've been suitably guilt tripped I think I could manage to go one night without running somebody else's company. Just no repeats of last time."  
"Sure thing 'shoe hands'. Now Loki, what did you want to know?"

Loki gawped.

"Small query really, but didn't you say 'girly night in'? Where do I fit into that equation? And please tell me this isn't on another one of your 'lists'."  
The widow cackled and patted the tricksters hand kindly.  
"You know what tonight is right? It's the guys weekly 'let's drink beer, play video games, listen to obnoxiously loud music, get drunk and eat so much pizza we only just fit into our suits the next day' night. And I know that you sometimes join them, but a certain little birdy told me that you don't particularly like it because you're too good at the xbox games and the rest of them hate playing against you. And you're a bad loser. And you normally distract Tony. And you insist on beating Thor at _everything_. And-"  
"Point taken Natasha. But still…"  
"You know, I have no intention of forcing you to stay… like that. You can change if you want."  
"You mean…?"  
"Yep."  
"Would somebody please fill me in on just what exactly it is that you two are talking about?" Pepper asked without taking her eyes from her phone. She prided herself on her ability to completely rearrange her life within a matter of seconds and all via her mobile. When she looked up again it took the clattering of her phone against the bar to snap her out of her sudden pause.

Instead of Loki a tall, curvaceous, dark haired beauty sat in his place. Her hair hung well below her waist and her emerald eyes twinkled mischievously. The buttons on the shirt he had been wearing sprung open to accommodate his new, ridiculously large chest.  
"That is some fantastic cleavage." She muttered shaking her head. Loki shot her a toothy grin in response. It was unnerving. Her… His face still looked similar, slightly too angular, all teeth and cheekbones, although this form had ever so slightly softer features.  
"Feeling better Loki?" Natasha grinned.  
"Much. I fear I may need some new clothes however as I appear to have ruined this shirt." He replied, flicking one of the popped buttons across the counter in mild annoyance.

"And this is part of the reason for shopping! I think of everything. You can thank me later ladies, now come on! We have a long day ahead of us."  
"I really need to learn to stop being so surprised by these sort of things." Pepper mumbled.  
"Hold on! I forgot something." Loki called back as he darted to the bedroom. The other two women glanced at each other and shrugged. Several minutes later and Loki strutted back into the kitchen looking entirely too pleased with himself.

"Care to enlighten us as to why you're grinning like the Cheshire cat?"  
"I remembered where Tony kept this." The shape shifter snickered offering out a card to his companions. "I am not entirely certain of its worth but I have been reliably informed that we can pretty much do as we wish with this."  
"Oh my God Loki, did you steal Tony's black card? We really shouldn't…"  
"Pepper, this card belongs to my partner, the same man who was also willing to allow you to run his entire company for him whilst he drank and played online games with a bunch of other superheroes who really should know better."  
"Let's go."

"I've been thinking," Pepper wondered aloud as the rather unlikely trio wandered down the high street, "surely you could just magic some more clothes up? I mean you've done it before right? Like when you 'Loki'd' the Hulk, you ended up in a black dress then. Well, I call it a dress, I think there's a minimum amount of material required before you can call something 'clothing'."  
"Claws away Ms Potts. It was a means to an end. And yes, I could just 'magic up' some more clothes but I prefer to actually own them. It also makes conjuring them much more simple as I don't have to worry about the cut or the fit. That and sometimes it's just nice to know you own something. Besides, the only clothes I have for this form do not fall within Midgardian standards. There is much fur and leather involved and it is far too warm for that."  
"I would not have called the dress you seduced Bruce in'nice'." Natasha chuckled as they turned into another shop.  
"I never said I wasn't above being a slut when the chance arose."  
"And Sleipnir would be testament to that right?" The red head pressed. Her mirth was silenced abruptly however as Loki's glare sliced through the atmosphere. The Widow faltered but was saved from any lingering awkwardness when Pepper called them over, squealing excitedly as she brandished a dress at them.

They made their way around the shop, the PA relishing her sliver of freedom and the black card by filling her arms with an assortment of ridiculously expensive, albeit gorgeous, dresses and shoes. There was still a degree of tension between the other two heroines but Pepper failed to notice, Natasha mentally kicked herself for already ruining their day out. She waited until Pepper had taken up temporary residence in one of the changing rooms with her hoard of clothing before she attempted to redeem herself.

"Hey Loki, look I'm sorry for what I said before. I only meant it as a joke, honestly it wasn't a dig at you." She said quietly. The trickster refused to meet her stare; instead he lowered his own gaze and crossed his arms. Natasha followed the movement, it was definitely defensive and thankfully hadn't strayed into aggression just yet.  
And damn that really was an impressive amount of cleavage.  
"Apology accepted." He mumbled eventually, his eyes still never shifting from the carpet.  
"No really Loki, I am sorry. It was completely out of line. You'd already told us the situation and it was wrong of me to joke about it. I just didn't think… I guess I'm just too used to hanging around with the guys, they don't tend to read much into insults and now I tend to get a little carried away with them. I didn't mean to offend you and I'd really hate it if I ruined today for us, it was going so well."

Finally emerald eyes left the safety of the floor as he tilted his head upwards, shaking a long lock of hair from his eyes. His lips broke into a fragile little smile that made the Widow want to cry.

"It is fine Natasha. I know you meant it as a joke. I would love to blame my reaction on my sudden change in hormones but that would be a lie. Truth be told, Midgardian sense of humour still occasionally confuses me. In Asgard I heard similar things on a daily basis as you may have gathered during our recent trip there, and believe me they weren't kidding. I was called every single name under the sun and every chance they got they took it upon themselves to make me feel as ashamed as was physically possible about what I'd done."  
"We'd never do that. I've seen what you're like when you're around Sleipnir and frankly it's terrifying how much you love him, although I think that about most people when it comes to their relationships with their children. You're a good parent and Sleipnir is a good son, you should never be ashamed of that." She stated matter-of-factly.  
"Oh if only you knew the half of it Natasha." He all but whispered, that small, sad smile almost fading into something much darker. Shaking his head abruptly he tried to force his grin to reach his eyes and placed his hands on his hips.  
"Now that we've cleared that up, I do believe there is a pair of heels over there that I know would make Stark choke if he saw how much they cost. I'm going to buy them." He rallied much to Natasha's relief.

Watching despairingly as her friend hunted down those poor shoes she sidled over to Pepper's booth.  
"Pep, did you catch any of that?" She asked, twitching the curtain still hiding the other woman.  
"I tried not to listen in on you… But yeah, I kind of did."  
"I feel really bad for him. I swear I never thought I'd say that about Loki, but he's not a bad guy when you get to know him. He's had a pretty rough time of it and although I still haven't completely forgiven him for the whole 'attempting to rule the world and mind controlling my boyfriend' thing he had going on, I think he's genuinely changed since. And I _never_ buy into that redemption stuff."  
"I hear you. Seriously. It's taken me longer than I care to admit to get over what he's done for Tony. It hurt seeing a relative stranger, ignoring the God complex and daddy issues, do everything I'd tried to do over several years in a matter of months. But then I realised something; it works both ways. I don't think it's ever even occurred to them that they saved each other, you know? And how can you stay mad at someone like that? If I hated Loki I'd have to hate Tony too, they're just that alike. And I can't do that Nat, I just can't."  
"So it's settled then. We are going to have the most fun ever today whether Loki wants to or not. And if we bankrupt Tony along the way then that's just a bonus come mission completion right?"  
"Right."  
"Now all we need to do is convince our resident diva that walking around in those shoes all day is going to be a bad call. This is why I specifically said in that text to wear flats."  
"Just look at those things! They've got like eight inch heels! How is he even walking in those?"  
"Normally I'd just put it down to him being a woman at this current point in time, but I've caught him walking around HQ in shoes like that when he thought no-one was around, you know, as a man."  
"Tony sure does know how to pick them." Pepper snorted good naturedly.  
"Yeah, you would know." Natasha laughed as her friend tore the curtain open and threw a particularly pointed shoe at her. "You getting something from this place? I'll be bitterly disappointed if you don't after the sheer amount of time you've spent in there."  
Pepper glanced at the heap of designer labels and rifled through them, pulling two dresses in particular out and holding them up in front of her.  
"These two are perfect. They're the sort of dresses i've always wanted but… I don't know. Even with that card they'd still cost a fortune."

Just as the words left her mouth the material seemed to dissolve and seep between her fingers, earning a horrified shriek from the women as the clothes faded from existence. The look on the usually 100% professional businesswoman's face was priceless Loki thought as he choked on his laughter and handed over the black card to the woman behind the counter. Unloading the bags onto the still vaguely shocked red head he draped a friendly arm around her shoulder as they vacated the shop.  
"Oh my darling Pepper, you must remember that todays expenditure is all on Tony, who might I remind you has missed how many of your birthdays in the past?" The silver tongue charmed, his honeyed words working a magic entirely of their own.  
"I need to take you out shopping with me more often."  
"I second that!" Natasha beamed as she linked the three of them together with her arms. "Now my pretties, I vote we make a break for sustenance. I know a restaurant with the most _gorgeous_ food."  
"I didn't know that was what were calling the waiters these days." Potts snickered.

As he was hauled unceremoniously down the street, the worlds most adept PA on one arm and a world class assassin hanging off the other, Loki wondered just what it had taken for his life to turn out this way.

Whatever it was he was thankful for it.

…

Girly day out followed by girly night in! :D


	27. The Only One

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N – This is a rather long chapter, almost double the length of most of the other ones. I sort of wrote myself into a corner with the previous chapter, and then I just sort of got into the flow and didn't have the heart to split this one in two. Hope you like it!

…

"Natasha stop drooling. It is most unbecoming of you." Loki drawled as the Widow straightened herself, reluctantly peeling her eyes away from the waiters who for some strange reason all seemed rather hesitant in approaching their table to take their orders.

Natasha switched her gaze from perverted to full on predatory in a matter of seconds as one of the cockier waiters made his way over. Loki kicked the assassin in her shins with one ungodly heel, shooting her a warning glare from across the table.  
"I have been kicked out of enough of these eating establishments during my short time on your planet, please do not add to the list." He hissed, not quietly enough it would seem as a disturbed look flashed briefly across the attendants face. He coughed politely.  
"Are you ready to order ladies or would you like me to give you a little longer to decide?" He charmed, or at least tried to. Loki snorted derisively and pretended to scan the menu again.  
"I'll take the special." The God said as he thrust the menu towards the now more than a little perturbed man. He frowned faintly, taking in Loki's appearance. The usually male deity had changed into a simple shift dress that mostly covered his chest and, all things considered, made him look rather demure. It was gold, obviously. He'd had to draw the line somewhere. He had also kept the heels.

His girlfriends would have to prise them from his cold, dead, probably broken feet before he'd admit they were crucifying him.

"Um, miss, the special is something of, well, a speciality here. It's a challenge you see, if you can eat the entire meal in under an hour you get it for free. Nobody has ever beaten it and it doesn't count if you share it with other people." The waiter grinned apologetically.  
Loki shot him his best withering scowl and crossed his arms.  
"I am very well aware of what this so called 'special' is and I have no intentions of sharing. See to it." He replied haughtily. It didn't matter what form he was currently using his appetite was still legendary, even more so than his brothers.  
"I-If you're sure. And what about the other two lovely ladies, are you ready to order?"  
"What I want is not on the menu." Natasha growled, licking her lips slowly. The waiter flushed scarlet and almost dropped his pen.  
"We'll take the steaks, please." Pepper smiled, giving Natasha a sly dig in the ribs as the young man nodded and desperately tried to hurry away.  
"Three bottles of your most expensive champagne as well mortal!" The Asgardian called after the retreating figure.  
"What have we told you about using the 'M' word?" Natasha chided.  
"What have we told you about playing mind games with the weak minded?" The sorcerer quipped.  
"Touché bitch." The assassin grinned.  
"I've been meaning to ask you Natasha," Loki began now that they were finally alone again, "what you said on Asgard, about that list…"  
"Oh God Nat, you told them about the list?" Pepper screeched from her corner, holding her sides as laughter reduced her to nothing but a giggling wreck.  
"I'd been dying to and the timing was perfect. They've been desperate to ask me about it for weeks, they're just too chicken shit."  
"I am not 'chicken shit', which I am going to assume means scared? The subject merely continued to slip my mind."  
"Oh you mean like how you weren't too scared to admit to me that you and Tony got married and I had to accidentally find out from Steve? Steve, Loki. He nearly had a panic attack when he realised what he'd done. I thought I'd killed Captain America." Pepper frowned.

The trickster at least had the decency to look fairly ashamed at that.  
"I felt it would be better for you to hear such things from Tony so I left him to it."  
"And you conveniently forgot that Tony is one of the biggest cowards we have the pleasure of knowing?"  
"I… Apologies, Pepper. Perhaps I was a little… concerned, as to how you might react to the news."  
"Concerned?" The PA echoed, her mouth hanging open slightly. "You, the Norse God of Fire, Lying and Eight Inch Heels were scared about what I might have to say? I find that hard to believe." She choked, her eyebrows arched as the spell caster fidgeted nervously with the tablecloth. "If it would make you feel any better though… I give you my blessing. Just don't hurt him. The same goes for Tony too. If I find out either of you have messed it up I'll end you both. Got it?"  
"Loud and clear Miss Potts." Loki grinned. He felt like a weight had suddenly been lifted from his chest and he had the overwhelming urge to message Tony telling him it was over, just to test Peppers words. He knew better however and instead settled for imagining the various scenarios of the red head on the warpath.  
"Now back to that list, Natasha." The PA chuckled, "Are you going to tell him or shall I?  
The assassin 'hmmd' a moment, tapping her lips with a speculative finger.

"I'll do it Pep. I hate to break it to you Loki, but Clint and I don't actually have a list. If we did don't worry, you and Tony would be at the top of it, but as it stands we're… well we're kind of trying to rope a certain someone into our fun and games."  
"I can't say I'm not faintly relieved. I do not like sharing my things. Tell me though, who is this 'certain someone'? Do I know them?" The sorcerer enquired pleasantly. He'd hoped to come off as disinterested but he knew the spy would see right through it.  
"Sorry Loki, my lips are sealed. No offense, we just don't trust you not to make a scene of some sort around them."  
"Natasha! Please, I am most considerate of others secrets, I would never do anything to sabotage your plans!"  
"Nice try silver tongue but no cigar."  
"Cigar? What would tha-"  
"Figure of speech. But oh look! Distrac- I mean the food's arrived!"

"Ladies." The waiter smarmed as he placed their food on the table. Loki tried to conceal his smirk at the perturbed expressions on his companions' faces as plate after plate was laid before him.  
"No way are you going to finish all that in under an hour." Natasha laughed gesturing at the feast that covered most of the table.  
"Was that a challenge I hear being issued Miss Romanoff?"  
"Twenty says you can't do it."  
"Fifty says I do with at least ten minutes to spare."  
"No magic."  
"I never even considered it."

The agent shook her head as she watched the God begin tearing into his meals. Even masquerading as a drop dead gorgeous woman not even the shape shifter extraordinaire himself could pull off looking entirely classy as he worked his way through the mountainous portions of food.

Natasha tried to peel her eyes away but it was like watching a car crash, horrible and yet strangely fascinating. As Loki polished off his third plate, a rack of ribs complete with fries and condiments, she pushed her own barely touched meal away.  
Suddenly she wasn't feeling that hungry any more.  
Pepper picked at her steak before giving up too. Instead they sent for another bottle of something strong and proceeded to cheer on the trickster.

By the time Loki had made it onto his sixth plateful, some sort of pasta dish this time, an enrapt crowd of patrons and staff alike had congregated around their table. With half an hour left and five more dishes to go the Widow began to seriously fear for her wallet.  
That was until she reminded herself about their golden ticket, namely Tony's card.

The crowd watched on in various states of disgust, distress and apparently desire going off the expression of one patron, and it was only when the trickster reached his final plate, hesitating slightly before pulling it towards him that the manager appeared. Loki cast a dubious eye over the last dish, he wasn't entirely certain, but he thought he saw tentacles. For the first time during the meal he felt his stomach begin to churn. He chewed on a piece of what he assumed to be eel before wrinkling his nose in disgust. Grimacing, he decided the best course of action was to just devour it as quickly as possible and to hell with looking pretty.

Grabbing the plate with one hand he raised it to his mouth and began shovelling the food in as quickly as possible with the other, Pepper covered her face with her hands and Natasha began whooping and cheering, egging the disgraceful mess of a God on. Slamming the now food free plate down he quickly grabbed the nearest bottle and began chugging, desperately trying to rid the slimy, fishy taste from his mouth. All around him the restaurant exploded into congratulations, cheers and whistles.  
"Well little lady," the manager guffawed offering Loki his hand, "I have to say I've never seen anything quite like that before. I never expected anyone to ever complete that challenge. You have just eaten me out of $300 worth of food, and hell, I ain't even mad! If you wouldn't mind, we'd love to put you on our wall of fame." Loki took the mans hand and shook it, beaming like a loon.  
"I would be honoured. Would it be too much trouble to possibly get another bottle of your finest as well please?" The silvertongue sang, allowing one of the waiters to get a few photos of him on his phone.

"My dear, I am so impressed I'm sending you three gorgeous creatures away with three of our most expensive bottles and I won't take no for an answer! You've earned it! There's nothing I love more than a woman with a good appetite!" The burly man guffawed as he took one of Loki's hands and kissed the back of it.

Once the commotion had died down and the bottles had been handed over, the manager waxing lyrical about the sorcerers appetite the entire time, the three friends sat back and laughed.  
"You absolute fiend. How did you even manage that? Like hell you didn't use magic." Pepper smirked as she gave her bottle of champagne an appraising look.  
"I swear to you I used no magic. And despite being a God my appetite is celebrated on Asgard. In fact, I really do think I could go for desert too. I believe I am in the mood for ice cream."

Pepper and Natasha simultaneously gawped. Suddenly the Widow collapsed against the table in a fit of hysterics. The PA couldn't help but snicker whilst Loki looked on nonplussed.  
"Oh God Loki, come on, let's get out of here and I will buy you the biggest tub of ice cream we can find!" The master spy laughed as she dragged the shape shifter from his seat.

The trip from the restaurant to Peppers place was relatively uneventful.  
Natasha only threatened three people, Loki only made two people cry and Pepper managed to narrow it down to only having to file three lawsuits in the morning. That and Loki had acquired a one gallon bucket of mint chocolate chip ice cream and seemed rather content, though it took all of his will power not to open it until they reached the apartment. As soon as they set foot through the door two pairs of shoes were immediately abandoned and within minutes both of the redheads were already in their pyjamas.  
Not even Natasha was entirely sure how that had all happened so quickly.

She nudged Loki who seemed to be lost in thought.  
"Earth to Supreme Overlord, is anyone home?"  
"Supreme Overlord? I could get used to that. Or 'Most Benevolent GodKing'."  
"Oh so you are still with us. Good to know, for a second I thought we'd lost you. You not gonna get changed too?"  
The magic user seemed to wrestle with the idea.  
"Would you mind if I, you know, changed back?" He asked, suddenly sheepish. Natasha raised an eyebrow at him.  
"Of course not Loki, whatever you're more comfortable in."  
"Well, just so long as you're sure…"  
"Why wouldn't we be?" Natasha snorted, cocking her head to one side.  
"Surely it defeats the point of having a 'girls night in' if one of those women is actually a man?"  
"It's not set in stone Loki, we don't care if you're a man or a woman or whatever as long as it doesn't leave a slime trail all over my carpet." Pepper laughed. "If you want we could start calling you our GBF?"  
"G.. I don't even know where to begin with that one." The trickster muttered blankly.  
"It means gay best friend. Earth has this whole thing about women befriending gay men. Although this does technically make us your fag hags." The Widow chuckled.

As Loki allowed himself a small good natured sigh his current appearance seemed to melt away, his curves dissolving into something sharper, more angular. Once his body had been restored it took him a moment to work out why his friends were trying desperately to stifle giggles behind their hands.  
Standing straighter he suddenly noticed a breeze between his legs and his shoes suddenly felt much too tight. With a hasty flick of his wrist the dress transformed itself into some sweats and an old, faded AC/DC shirt. Almost reluctantly he magicked away his heels before tying his hair up into a high ponytail.  
"Does Tony know you steal his shirts? I always used to get a lecture for it." Pepper grinned. Loki snickered and played with the worn hem of the shirt.  
"Unfortunately for him he doesn't get much say in the matter. That reminds me, I wonder if he managed to find all of his pants yet." He mused aloud, Pepper chose to stay out of that one and beckoned them over to the living room.

Loki flopped down onto the couch and stretched the length of it letting out a grunt when Natasha flung herself onto his stomach. Pepper lifted the trickster's legs and stole their seat before letting them fall across her lap. Just as the three of them finally settled the familiar sound of 'sexy and I know it' began to shrill loudly from the Gods pocket. With an undignified squawk he managed to reach into his pocket without accidentally violating Natasha too badly.  
"Three guesses who set that as his own custom ringtone." Pepper whispered to the other red head.  
"Stark, what have I told you about messing around with my phone?"  
"Not now Loki."  
"First names? No 'babe' or 'wifey'?"  
"Look, I'm not in t-"  
"Pardon me if I sound a little alarmed but isn't this all terribly _domestic_. I've only been gone a day and you're already checking up on me."  
The girls ears pricked up at that. Natasha swiped the phone from Loki's hands and tapped the screen before handing it back with a dangerous gleam in her eyes. When Tony continued his voice rang clearly for all to hear. The trickster's lips curled into a wicked grin as he raised the phone to his ear again.

Pepper and Natasha allowed themselves a discreet high-five.

"Well, I wasn't sure what genitals you'd decided to wear today." Loki glared down his nose at that but his friends noted there was a definite absence of the usual contempt and malice that would generally accompany such a remark. The PA filed that one away under 'most interesting'.  
"So what is it you want then?"  
"Well, at first I was going to congratulate you on outdoing yourself yet again on another marvellous game of 'hide the fuck out of Tony's pants and make him spend the day searching for them in nothing but his underwear', but then I realised something."  
"And what would that be dearest?"  
"Where the shit is my black card _darling_?"  
Loki swallowed and shot the women a panicked glare. They remained deathly silent.  
"I have no idea what you're talking about Tony. What the hell even is a black card?"  
"Don't you play dumb with me you stunning little liar. I don't care that you've got it but I need it back. Now. Something's come up, an issue with the suit and I need to make several rather urgent and rather speedy orders. And don't you dare even consider hiding it in one of the pants that I haven't found yet as an incentive to keep looking. Don't put it in Steve's pants or Bruce's and so help me Gods if I find it in Clint's."

Loki faltered a moment before he replied. He tried valiantly to keep the waver from his voice, but something in his expression must have betrayed him because Natasha patted his arm gently. He continued to stare at the ground, it was safer that way.

"Are you mad at me Tony?" He asked, swallowing the lump in his throat.  
"No Loki, I'm not mad at you. I'm pretty pissed at you actually."  
"I… sorry Tony, I did not think it would be that much of an issue."  
"That card is for emergencies, you know, like tonight. Fuck, I mean, I've wasted so much damn time looking for it and I should've fucking known."  
"And what is that supposed to mean Stark. '_You should have known_.'" Loki half snarled, his temper flaring, forgetting for the moment that he still had company.  
"It means that if something goes missing that has no damn right to, you can probably safely assume that the resident trickster has it."  
"I don't do it that often!"  
"Oh, you mean like the time Cap's shield disappeared during the middle of a fucking fight, or the time half of Bruce's lab disappeared? Oh and let's not forget about the time when you managed to wipe J.A.R.V.I.S. from my suit. You really outdid yourself with that one." The engineer snapped down the line. The atmosphere had suddenly grown much cooler, metaphorically and literally. The women could see Loki's breath hanging in the air, the faintest traces of frost ghosting his lips.

They visibly tensed as the sorcerer's momentary lapse in the verbal warfare grew to a close. This was about to get ugly, they just knew it.

"That last one was an accident, you know that." The wordsmith mumbled feebly. Tony didn't seem to notice his lover's pensive tone, or if he did he chose to ignore it.  
"Fucks sake Loki. Just, fuck."  
"The card should be on the dresser now. What's this emergency though? I thought it was your games night in? Do you need my assistance? I can be there right away."  
"The world doesn't stop because we need a night off. We can't all do what we want any time we damn well please. And no, we don't need your help. We've got it covered. Have a nice night."  
Before Loki could utter another word the line went dead.  
He stared numbly at the screen for a long moment before throwing it to the ground and snarling at it. There was no bite to his expression though; it was frustration more than anything. And fear. There was an amount of fear in there too.

"First fight?" Pepper asked softly as if reading his mind. Loki merely nodded and sighed, burying his face beneath his palms. Natasha leapt up from her perch on the Gods stomach while Pepper squeezed his knee reassuringly.  
"He's not mad at you, you know. I know you won't believe me yet but you'll see in the morning. If you switch your phone off now I guarantee it'll be flooded with messages in the morning. Most of them will probably be slurred and incoherent but he will be sorry. He's just stressed and annoyed, for whatever reason, and you were the easiest person to lash out at. Please don't take it to heart, he'll hate himself in the morning." She soothed.

Loki attempted a smile but it broke somewhere along the way.

He had never fought with Tony before.  
Not like this.  
One of them would get annoyed with the other and more often that not Tony would sleep on the couch for a night or two, but then one of them would say something stupid and they'd fall together laughing at the ludicrousness of it all.  
Tony never shouted at him like that, he had never intentionally made him feel small and weak and wrong.  
Tony never hung up on him.  
So deep in his mental turmoil was he, the distraught man barely even noticed when Natasha clambered back onto his stomach. He was dragged out from the inside of his own head however when a spoon was thrust into his face.  
"Take this and eat." She demanded, offering him the tub of ice cream.

For once he did as he was told.

There was a lengthy lapse into silence as the three passed the ice cream around, content to wallow in the aftermath of another of Loki's defeats and ignore the issue at hand. But only for a while.

"You know when Clint and I had our first real fight he ended up with a bust shin and I had a bite mark on my arm for a month."  
"I… did not know that."  
"Yeah, in his defence I deserved a lot more than a bite. But we talked it out afterwards, when he got back from getting his leg splinted. Turns out we ended up becoming a lot closer for it. Funny how things like that work out." She offered, her features remaining completely impassive as she dug her own spoon into the tub.

"But, he's never raised his voice like that. And…"  
"And?" Pepper encouraged gently.  
"And I've never felt this guilty." He finished lamely, stuffing his mouth with the spoon afterwards.  
"We've all been there Loki. Don't worry about it. You do realise now though that this makes you a completely legitimate couple?"  
"Pardon?"  
Pepper smiled and shared a look with Natasha.  
"You two have been dancing around it for so long. You don't mind snogging the face off each other in public, or doing a whole lot worse, but one mention of you two being boyfriends, or husbands now, and you both completely clam up. It's kind of sweet actually."  
"Sickeningly so." The widow emphasised with a smirk of her own.

Loki couldn't help but let out a sort of dejected half laugh at that.

"This is relatively new territory for us. Well, me at least. I think this might be my first real relationship and I know the only other person Stark allowed to get this close was you Miss Potts. Quite sad when you stop to think about it given that I am nearly a thousand years old now."  
"Wait wait wait. Hold the phone there lanky. You're telling us that this is your first relationship in nearly a thousand years of living?" Pepper stammered incredulously. Natasha's face was almost as comical. Loki nodded his head grimly.  
"The Asgardians were… Not my cup of tea, to put it mildly. I have always had a preference for men, but trust me, nobody needs that much testosterone in their life. I've had flings, that's no secret. One of the favourite slurs used against me on Asgard was 'Whore of the Nine Realms', and in all honesty it was not entirely unwarranted. I had a reputation, one that may in fact rival even our dearest playboy's. But there was nobody across any of the worlds I visited who managed to hold my interest quite like Stark has. Before my visit to Midgard I had never met anyone with such a staggering intellect rivalled only by his own inflated ego and disastrous sense of self-preservation. I have been to the end of the universe and back. I have seen things, things that even immortal eyes could never hope to comprehend. And the only constant I have ever found in the entire damn universe is one Anthony Howard Stark. Is that not truly pitiful?"

Pepper shook her head sadly.

"Not pitiful Loki. It's terrifying. And it's beautiful. And it's sad. But if there really is somebody for everyone on this world then trust Tony to have to look to the rest of the universe for his." She laughed quietly.  
"And you Pepper, have you found your someone?"  
"I thought so once, but then he died."  
"I am most sorry to hear that." He all but whispered.  
Natasha glanced at the other woman and silently prayed for her friend to stop talking.  
"You should be." The red head said quietly. "You're the one who killed him."

…

Sorry for the feels overload guys. I swear that wasn't my intention when I started this chapter! Obviously I'm not in a particularly happy place tonight.


	28. Misdemeanours Galore

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N - :)  
Also, it's just occurred to me that if you guys wanna send me messages or suggestions or anything you can catch me on tumblr if I don't seem to be responding/updating on here as frequently as I do for whatever reason.  
I'm **Knight Ardent** on there and you can catch some of my artwork up there too, I'm up for doodle suggestions as well if you'd like :)))

…

Silence.

Loki tried to forms words.  
Any words.  
Yet the ones he so desperately needed seemed to escape him.  
Fractured little noises escaped his lips while his brain tried to catch up with his tpmgue.  
He sat up, dislodging Natasha somewhere along the way.  
The two women seemed content to let him struggle for the moment; at least Pepper did any way. Natasha's face had darkened and her mouth was set in a thin line of worry.

"I don't- Pepper I didn't mean, I- I don't know what to say. Pepper I didn't mean to, I don't know what to- Pepper, please!" He rambled, the words pouring out of him in an insane, nonsensical flood. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the backrest of the couch. Her expression remained completely neutral. This unnerved the trickster more than anything.  
Why wasn't she screaming.  
How had she been so nice to him, befriended and looked out for him knowing what he'd done?  
Why did she call him her friend?

"Say something, Pepper. Please?" He pleaded, his entire body trembled and his knuckles whitened as he wrung his hands together. He waited desperately for her to say something, his breathing laboured; as if all the words he should be saying were lodged so deep in his lungs there was no more room for air. If she wanted to shout and scream, claw at him or hurt him in any way she saw fit he wouldn't stop her.  
He'd had no idea. She was his friend. He couldn't lose someone else. Not now.  
Not after he'd come so far.  
She opened her mouth to speak and the immortals breath hitched. He choked on another unspoken plea as she finally opened her eyes and looked at him. He wilted under her gaze.

She leant forwards slowly, cupping his face with her hands, her blue eyes cold and hard.  
"Don't you dare start apologising. Not now."  
"What? I don't understand, why aren't you-"  
"What, why am I not screaming at you? Why don't I hate you and why am I sat here with you eating ice cream and trying to make you realise what you and Tony have is actually something pretty damn special?"  
"Yeah…" He whispered breathlessly. "I deserve your utmost contempt, your hatred your anger your tears. I slaughtered the man you loved so why do you insist on continuing to help me? Was all this some sort of a plan to lure me in, make me feel accepted and then cut me off again? Is this your revenge? Wh-"  
"For Gods sake Loki! Just shut up and listen! This is not revenge so stop trying to twist my words into something they're not! This was never about me hating you, though I won't lie, I did at first. For a long time. The mere mention of your name set my blood boiling and all I could do was take solace in the fact that you were probably rotting away somewhere. I'm not proud of that now but it was part of the healing process I suppose. I don't hate you and I don't want to hurt you."  
"So why tell me this?" Loki whimpered, his voice cracking right down the middle. Natasha made to leave.  
This wasn't her place.

"Sit down Natasha. You should hear this too, some of it anyway."  
The Widow complied reluctantly without a word.  
Watching Pepper go into lockdown and Loki teetering on the brink of some massive emotional breakdown was terrifying. She wanted to say something to diffuse the situation, to end all this madness before someone got seriously hurt.

But using the words 'glass case of emotion' somehow seemed just a little bit too inappropriate.

Pepper groaned quietly and pressed her forehead to Loki's. The spell caster stiffened, his nails raking his skin through the thin material of his pants.  
"I owe you so many thanks. I don't know where to begin." She admitted after a torturously long moment. Loki could only splutter something unintelligible in response.  
"You could start with his name." Natasha prompted gently from the side-lines.

"Aha yeah, that'd be a start… His name was Phil. Phil Coulson. He was a good man Loki, one of the best. He was so, _so_ dedicated in everything that he did. He loved his job, he loved the people he was assigned to protect and he loved me. But I never knew. I didn't know he cared. And when I heard he'd been killed they sent me a note. It was in his desk, a letter with my name on it. In it he'd written how he'd never understood how I could cope with Tony day after day and not be driven insane by it. He asked how could I practically run somebody else's company for them, how could I rearrange my life in a matter of minutes and all for the benefit of someone who constantly took me for granted and then never ask for anything in return.  
"He said he'd always adored me and that he'd tried so many times to work up the courage to ask me to dinner. He only ever wanted me to feel appreciated. He'd written it all down on paper because he was too scared to tell me to my face, but in the event of his death he wanted me to know that somebody still cared. It killed me reading it. I wondered if things might have turned out differently if you hadn't come along, that maybe he'd have held back, that we'd still be together, married and maybe with kids. It could have all been so _perfect_. But I knew nothing would have changed. He'd have still been dead and I'd have been the one left behind to pick up the pieces."

"Surely a moment of happiness, no matter how fleeting, would have been worth it?"

"That's not the point. He told me he loved me. But there's more to it than that… This is the part that Natasha will be interested in too. After the attack he died. His heart stopped and that was it. Fury told the Avengers he was dead, showed them the cards and that was all the proof they needed. They believed him gone and that was enough. In their united desire for revenge, their need to see you brought down you created the Avengers, The Earth's Mightiest Heroes. They didn't need to know that his heart started beating again, that there was some slim chance he might survive, not then. Not when everything was still so uncertain…"  
"Why tell me this, why would I need to know that he died twice?" Natasha hissed, her demand masked under the pretence of a question. Pepper smiled then. She pressed her lips to the top of Loki's head and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Because he came back."  
"_What_?"  
"He held on. He slipped into a coma but I wouldn't let them turn off the life support. They said the chances were that he'd never wake up but I couldn't turn it off Natasha, I couldn't lose him again! So I waited. I waited and waited and prayed that he would come back to me. Phil always came back. He'd always been there when I needed him the most. He _always_ came back."  
"Did he come back again?" He asked, the plea engulfing his words almost too painful for Pepper to hear.

And then she laughed.  
Amidst her tears there was laughter, pure, genuine, joyous laughter.  
"He did. He did and I love him and I love you too for making this happen. If it hadn't been for you I might never have known. I might have had to live an entire lifetime without him."  
Loki sobbed, burying his face in her hair to hide his own tears.  
On the floor Natasha allowed herself a smile but inside she was weeping. They were happy metaphorical tears though.

"Why did you not make mention of this sooner Pepper?" The trickster sniffed, hastily drying his eyes in a desperate attempt to pretend he hadn't just cried like a child in front of the Black Widow.  
"He asked me not to. He wanted to wait until he'd completely recovered. And I guess we just wanted some time together just the two of us, you know, until we had to go and face the world again."  
Loki nodded sympathetically. He could understand that. It reminded him of all the nights he and Tony had spent hours talking about everything and nothing, sitting on HQ's roof and staring out at the city. It made him feel like they were the only two people in the universe and it had always felt so perfect.  
"When is he coming back?" Natasha grinned, diving on top of the other two, sprawling besides them on the couch that was not designed to support three (two legitimate and one honorary) overly emotional women.  
"Soon." Pepper beamed cryptically. She refused to say any more on the matter and neither of her friends pressed her for the details. They knew all would be revealed in time, though refraining from spilling the news to their colleagues would prove to be something of a challenge in the mean time.  
"I don't know about you two, but I do believe this calls for a copious amount of eye wateringly expensive champagne." Loki chuckled as a bottle materialised in each of their hands.

"I propose a toast!" Natasha bellowed, clinking a discarded spoon against the glass.  
"To friends coming home!"  
"To love!" Pepper yelled.  
"To friends you don't deserve." Loki smirked.  
"CHEERS!" They laughed as one.

Still vaguely tormented by a lingering feeling of emotional turmoil Loki sat back and allowed the two women to bicker over what film to put on. He rubbed at the bridge of his nose wearily and tried to process the sudden influx of information that he had been forced to intake.

He had killed a man.  
Not just any man, but the love of one Miss Pepper Potts life.  
This had somehow, defying all common sense, rationale and logic, brought them closer together than either would have ever dreamt possible.  
The man in question hadn't in fact died, as his friends and colleagues had been lead to believe, but had slipped into a coma.  
Pepper, with her unwavering and frankly illogical faith had waited.  
And ultimately she was rewarded for her patience.  
And somehow this was all Loki's fault.

"Come on. Spill it tall, dark and brooding. What's still eating you up?" Natasha asked digging him in the ribs.  
"Honestly? I still don't get it. Nothing I did was out of the good of my heart. I regret my actions now, I regret much that I have done because Coulson was only one of many casualties to suffer at my hands, and I seriously doubt the other victims loved ones would be quite so generous with their forgiveness. So I still do not see how Pepper can write off all my misdemeanours as ultimately… good." He explained taking a long draught of champagne.  
"You can't just leave a good thing alone can you?"  
"Apparently not."  
"For the love of… Listen closely Loki." The PA warned. "From what I've heard about the actions leading up to your attempted takeover you weren't yourself. That doesn't excuse you in any way but hell even Clint has accepted you into the fold. Do you know what that means? It means they've seen something good in you. The man that tried to enslave the human race nearly two years ago is a far cry from the man that's sat here now."  
"Partially because the man I was back then had never encountered sweat pants nor knew the joys of reindeer emblazoned t-shirts."  
"You're really struggling to take me seriously aren't you?"  
"Unfortunately."  
"Well how about this for a sobering thought; Tony told me about your punishment."  
"Low blow Potts."  
"A hundred years with next to no human contact. I can't even begin to imagine what that must have been like to endure. And the one person you chose to confide in was an egotistical, snarky, billionaire with a penchant for riling Gods."  
"Pepper this is not a conversation I wish to take part in. I am well aware of my own punishment. You need not remind me."  
"No, I don't. But you weren't the only one suffering back then. Now shut your face and let me talk."

Loki pulled a face and crossed his arms sulkily but allowed the woman to continue.  
He'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little interested.

"I remember when he suddenly started talking about someone he'd recently met, a gorgeous young man who would somehow manage to evade all his security systems and hang around on his roof waiting for him. He told me how after his initial shock you'd both just started talking and joking around. Tony admitted he'd wronged this man in the past but that he'd had no choice, his new friend had once taken a trip off the deep end and a lot of people got hurt. Obviously I had no idea that you were that man, but even then I thought 'this guy must be something pretty special'. You were all he talked about and Tony would get so agitated and antsy when you didn't re-appear for months on end. He asked me what he should do because there was no way for him to contact this guy in the meantime. I told him to wait it out because from what he'd told me it seemed like this guy was in it for the long haul.  
"He never told me what the two of you spoke about. He didn't want to betray your trust in him and he was too scared of chasing you away to risk it. I said anyone that could make him feel like that was worth hanging on to, and if he genuinely believed that there was room for change in this man then he was worth fighting for. Imagine the look on my face when I found out that man was you." She finished, smirking at the still faintly confused looking prince.

Loki huffed and reached for the rather forlorn looking tub of ice cream again.  
This was going to be a long night he could tell.  
"Are all of your womanly nights out quite as draining as this?"  
"Not all of them. Most of them end with a reappearance from shoe hands." Natasha quipped.  
"Maybe next time eh Loki?" Pepper laughed as Natasha shoved her feet in her fellow red heads face.  
"Next time? Please Gods tell me next time doesn't involve this much ice cream and tears?" He begged through a mouthful of mint chocolate chip.  
"I promise you that next time there will only be tears from sudden onslaughts of giggle-snorting and possibly from sprained ankles if you break out those hooker heels again. But I make no promises as to the ice cream situation. Consider that one your punishment." The freckled one winked.  
Loki cackled at the thought.  
He supposed he rather liked having friends like these. Even if they did consider him to be partly female despite his current choice in appendages.

He reckoned he could forgive them though.  
Especially when he noticed Pepper discreetly turning off his phone.  
Waking up to a hundred messages of Stark drunkenly grovelling at his feet was certainly something to look forwards to.

…

Teehee I'm a dick, bet you didn't think he was getting out of that one alive did you ;)


	29. Not His Stark

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N- Oh the angst, oh the plot! Oh the fluff, oh the smut, oh the ineptitude! Here, have some more! And thank you for your constant reviews and input, even if I don't get back to you personally please know that it is very much appreciated! Some of your messages have been inspiring and touching and especially thank you to the people who have commented from the start and continue to do so, your dedication is impressive and encouraging and so, so wonderful! :) Now enough of the mush [I still don't believe that anyone ever even reads these :') ] – and enjoy -

…

It was a strange sort of smile that danced across the trickster's features that morning. Peculiar insofar as that it was hardly what one could truly consider a 'smile'. It was twisted, involved teeth and possibly traces amounts of snarl. And yet despite this there was a resounding, underlying sense of warmth behind it.

It was reserved only for the most special of occasions.  
Those occasions were, and had in fact only ever been, with or due to a rather ridiculous mortal named Anthony Stark. It frightened the liesmith more than he dared believe that one mortal man could ever twist his usually placid and perfectly controlled features into something so very unguarded, so... Un-Loki.

He was so very glad that no-one were around to see it, save the aforementioned man sleeping deeply on the bed before him.

The spell caster seemed happy enough to let his lover sleep without alerting him to his presence. But the sight of that stupid, beautiful, soul distressed a void in his chest he'd long ago written off as hopelessly and eternally barren. The temptation to slip beneath the sheets besides his husband was tortuous to say the least.  
Yet he refrained, somehow.  
There were protocols in such a case as this.  
They had fought after all, and it was expected of Loki to be belligerent and dismissive of Stark's apologies for a while yet.

But just watching the steady rise and fall of that chest with it's glowing life source lifting and dipping perfectly in time with it, it was hard for the God to concentrate on much else bar keeping his distance.  
It bewildered him how one man could infuriate, derail and generally peeve him so easily without even needing to be conscious.  
The decidedly empty bottle of what smelt like whisky rested gently between oil slicked fingers. The engineer's hand had half curled around the bottle and still clutched desperately to it even in sleep.  
The void in Loki's chest hummed something fierce and it took all of his will power not to gently prise the damned object from the filthy digits.

He couldn't help but frown at the dark, greasy smears they had left on the otherwise pristine sheets either.  
Reining in a sigh the sorcerer faded from the room and found himself back in Pepper's apartment. He had taken up residence on the couch, allowing the two women to share the bed lest people forget he was still a gentleman at heart.

The softness of the couch had begun to irritate him however for reasons he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Perhaps it was simply because he had grown far too accustomed to the cool, clinging leather couch in the headquarters communal area. More likely it was down to his lack of company. He missed the enveloping warmth he associated with his love, along with the cloying smell of sweat, oil and metal with underlying aromas of various alcohols and a tangy, if understated, cologne.  
He craved the affection of his other, though he was far too proud to admit such a thing aloud. He even chided himself for even thinking it.

And yet the need was there.

With a hesitant rolling of his wrists, jade hues licking at his palms, he suddenly found himself staring into a pair of dazzling, hazel eyes. Tony stood before him wordlessly. His hair remained dishevelled and uncombed, the clothes from the night before rumpled and creased and his forlorn bottle of whisky nowhere to be seen.  
"Come." The wordsmith gently commanded.  
Tony obeyed without so much as a flicker of protest. Loki pulled the shorter man on top of him before rolling his partner beneath him. Resting his face against the faintly luminescent chest he was aggrieved, but not surprised, to register a lack of heartbeats. Using the silent chest to muffle his displeasure he recoiled slightly at another abnormality. The body under him stank of magic, all sterile and clean. Not a trace amount of whisky, bourbon, metal or fuel. There was nothing dangerous or intoxicating about it.

Burying his head into the crook of his consort's neck he frowned at the blank, expressionless face that stared back at him. It was rather unnerving. Grazing a hand over the carefully clipped goatee he revelled a little in how this one thing remained the same.  
It was not enough however.

In a fit of temper the mage banished the carbon copy Stark to the ether and glowered at the now empty space beneath him.

No matter how much magic he put into it the end result was always the same.  
He could get the looks down to the most minute of details. He had, after all, excessively studied every inch of his partner's body countless times.  
He could create a tangible copy of his lover. There was real, albeit only temporarily real, skin beneath his fingers. He could hold it if so wished. Though the thought gave him little consolation knowing it could never hold him back.  
It was only a copy.  
A stunningly rendered copy, but without a soul it was useless.  
Less than useless, it was painful reminder of what awaited him but a few seconds teleportation away.

Snarling at his own foolishness he flopped back onto the couch, resting his head against the chair arm before reaching blindly for his phone. His lip curled downwards as his fingers encountered a cast aside spoon, complete with residual stickiness, grimacing now as his tacky fingers wrapped around the cellular device. Wiping the phone on his shirt in a futile attempt to rid it of some of its viscosity a sudden bleeping startled him enough to fumble the infernal machine.

Pressing the screen a message flashed up, one of thirty-five apparently, Pepper certainly hadn't been wrong about the grovelling part. It simply read:  
_  
'Sent from Tony Stark  
to Loki Laufeyson_

_Set J.A.R.V.I.S. to send you this message_  
_a couple of hours ago because I'm  
__probably too unconscious to do it  
right now.  
__But just because I'm sleeping doesn't  
__make me any less sorry for how I acted  
__last night._

_X'_

Loki smiled. 'Sentimental bloody fool' he thought not unkindly.  
Clicking off the text emerald eyes widened almost comically at the sheer backlog of information bombarding his phone.  
Thirty-five text messages.  
Fifty-three missed calls.  
Five voice mail messages.

He was almost disappointed. Only five voice mails, really?  
He pressed them and wriggled into a more comfortable position as he prepared to cringe through all of them.

1.

"Hey Loki! Tried callin' you a couple a' times. Think your phone's not workin' or somthin', cause I know you can't ignore me. You can't hear this but I'm wigglin' m'eyebrows at you right now. Jus' think bout that yeah? Oh an I'm really, really sorry. Please pick up?"

2.

"Sh'mee again. M'still really sorry. Please don't be mad-I'm a dick. Pick up the phone. Please babe?"

3.

"Shorry, sorry, s-sorry, sorry, unn-I'm so sorry Loki. I love you, just pick up the phone n' shout at me or sumthin' kay?"

4.

"Why m' I such a dick? I dunno why I shouted at you, I think I was-" There's a pause filled with the sound of a strangled hiccough/sob. "- a l'il scared. But now I'm scared you'll hate me. I dun want you to hate me Loki! I'm sorry, I really really am."

5.

"J.A.R.V.I.S. says I should stop calling you now. He says-hic- that m' being silly and I need to go t'bed. I don-hic-wanna though, I want you. I'm-hic-sorry Loks, I'm shtupid n' I'm-hic-sorry an I just want you here. I miss you. Please come back Reindeer Gamesh."

Loki switched the phone off.  
He'd heard enough.  
He fought back a whimper and stared numbly at the darkened screen for what seemed like forever. Tony never allowed himself to get into these sorts of states. He must have been tearing himself up over there. The progression from drunk but still optimistic to sobbing, hiccoughing wreck had sounded particularly traumatic. Chewing the inside of his cheeks to shreds Loki tried to shrug off the smothering feeling of guilt at his insistence on ignoring his husbands pathetic, if not determined and slightly charming, attempts at reconciliation.

It had probably been for the best in the long run however, without their spat and its inevitable fallout Pepper's admission might have gone unspoken.  
Still…  
He ached with seemingly incessant pangs of conscience at the thought of Tony wallowing on his own with nothing but his machines and alcohol for company. No doubts he'd have probably still managed to create something fantastically brilliant and insane, most likely highly volatile too during his angst, but that was beside the point.

Face set in a mask of grim determination the mischief-maker grabbed a pen and paper from the coffee table and hastily scratched out an apology, sticking it on top of the couch's backrest before flickering out of the apartment.  
He was sure Pepper would understand.  
Actually no, he _knew_ she would.

Tony hadn't moved.  
He also appeared to be snoring lightly.  
The trickster flashed a smile.  
Tugging his shirt over his head and stripping down to his boxers he crept up to the bed and slid gently beneath the covers. Snuggling closer to the other male he burrowed his face into the pillow besides Tony's. He could feel hot, somewhat acrid breath washing over his face. Trailing his fingers placidly through the tangled mess of his husband's hair he allowed his thumb to trace a gentle curve down the strong jaw, brushing ever so softly at the bristles of his beard.  
Time came to a halt as he mapped out every single line and crease upon the unusually silent avenger's visage, caressing the tanned, weathered skin there with trepidation, full of fear of waking the slumbering hero.

In this moment, no matter what had happen previously and regardless of what the future held, Loki would forgive this man anything. If Tony wanted the moon he would drag it from its moorings and he would give it gladly.  
Because mortals were such fragile things after all.  
Their lives so fleeting and so full of desperate attempts to fill them with meaning.  
It was tragic and beautiful and he only wished he had known sooner.  
Should Tony die, which he unquestionably would, as mortals were wont to do, Loki knew insanity would claim him once more and he would be lost.  
That was it.

There was no Loki without Tony.

He would gladly fall through space and time for millennia if only to have his husband another lifetime. He would shun his immortality if he could, cast off his eternal bonds and happily resign himself to a mortal life.  
He would do all this for him.

A man who tried to wiggle his eyebrows down the phone.  
A man who called him Reindeer Games as a marker of love.  
A man who would pledge the remainder of his fleeting years, up until a death he could not return from, all to Loki.  
They were all each other had.  
That idiot, wretched, mortal was all Loki had, all he had ever wanted and nothing more or less than he deserved.  
And he would be dead soon enough.  
It was hard to believe they had already been together nearly two years.  
Two years out of what though, thirty, forty perhaps?

He would not- _could not_ let that happen.

Loki would not let a little thing like death happen to his Stark.

Loki was his. He belonged to Tony Stark in every which way fathomable. He had allowed a mere human to unravel him so completely it was mind-boggling.

And all it had taken was a shit eating grin, a sharp tongue and an infallible desire to see a God beneath him to do it.

He couldn't help but smile.  
It was a strange and twisted thing, a flash of teeth and hint of tongue.  
It was longing and desire and adoration with a ghosting of neediness.  
He pressed the smile to Tony's lips and prayed he could feel it too.

…

Some fluff, Gods knows this story needed some :')


	30. Bright Lights and the End Of Time

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N- Quick question, received an anon comment about the rating of this fic and I was wondering what the rest of you guys think on the matter?  
I generally associate M rated fics to contain intense sexual imagery and language/violence etc…  
Although my fic contains bad language, the occasional mention of violence and insinuates things of a sexual nature, I personally wouldn't deem it an M because I don't believe it pushes boundaries enough.  
-It isn't sexually explicit.  
-There are mentions of violence but no especially dark/gory imagery.  
-Taboo subjects are occasionally laughed at but generally glanced over.  
-There is a degree of feels and angst, but they are generally more depressing than legitimately distressing.

Or perhaps I'm just far too desensitized for my own good, I'm not sure.  
I don't want to have to up the rating to an M but I'll seriously consider it if that's what people think, I'd also like it if the anon, if you continue reading, could PM me or something maybe so I can try and understand why you think the rating should be changed? :)

-AND NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMME—

…

_You are all that I ever wanted. You are all that I will ever need and you are everything I deserve._

Tony Stark woke with those words burning brightly through his mind though he had no recollection of having ever dreamt them.  
They sounded like a memory.  
He tongue was thick, bitter and heavy in his mouth. It tasted like regret, but nothing a little more whisky couldn't take care of. Or was it bourbon? It didn't really matter anymore. But what did matter, and he couldn't believe he'd only just noticed this now, was a mostly naked God had nestled its head into the curve of his neck. The wordsmiths lips gently brushed against his throat and his breath was unnaturally cool as it glanced his skin.

Tony fought back the urge to shudder for fear of waking the other up.

He wasn't sure how this had happened. Loki was supposed to be at Pepper's, having pillow fights and makeovers and gossiping. All the stuff he usually did at HQ but somewhere else for once.  
So why in the hell was he here practically plastered to Tony?  
Not that the engineer was complaining, well, maybe a little seeing as his husbands little frost giant feet were freezing up what was supposed to be a really nice, warm bed. But he could live with that.

Suddenly unable to give his partner just a few more moments of peace he dived in for a kiss. It amused him to no end that Loki began returning the kiss before he was even awake. Just to spite his lover the genius allowed his tongue to lick the backs of Loki's teeth, which earned him a swift slap once the trickster realised what was happening.  
"Dammit Stark!"  
"That was me apologising again. Don't you want to hear my apologies?"  
"Oh for the love of-"  
Whatever Loki was about to say went unheard as Tony continued to 'apologise', not that the Jotun was about to start complaining.

He could wait until they finished.

It was roughly half an hour later when they finally pulled apart. Tony opened his mouth to speak and was silenced by a single finger to the lips.

"I don't want to hear it. I don't care anymore. You were wrong, I was wrong and I can accept that you are so very sorry for how you reacted. Let's just leave it at that shall we?"  
"Okay. Yeah, that sounds good. For the record though I am still really sorry."  
"Then buy me something nice and we'll call it quits, hm?"  
"I am so lucky to have you and yet I can hardly afford to keep you." The taller man laughed.  
"And I deserve you, I think." Loki mumbled as he replaced his finger with his mouth. Tony grabbed the liar by his shoulders and pushed him back, holding the bewildered man at arms length.  
"Repeat that last bit would you?"  
"Excuse me?" Loki scoffed, more than a little flustered at his rebuke.  
"What you just said, say it again." Tony demanded.  
"I said I think that I deserve you."  
"Huh. I thought that's what you said."

…_ and you are everything I deserve.  
_  
He laughed again. Pushing Loki down onto the bed, running a hand lightly along a leg that seemed to go on forever he smirked thoughtfully. His husband wrinkled his nose and laid the flat of his hand against the side of the broader mans face.  
"Something you wish to share with the rest of us Stark?"  
"Nothing babe. You just get in my head is all. Now am I going to get to show you the true extent of my grovelling or what?"  
A sly grin was all the encouragement he needed as their bodies pressed together in a way that implied they had been designed for each other.

Breathless and aching Loki ran a hand through his hair and let out a shuddering laugh. Tony shot him an amused glance before pushing himself from the bed. His husband made no move to follow, instead relishing his newfound acquisition of the entire bed by sprawling across it.

The mechanic left the bathroom door open as he stepped into the shower. He had to shout to be heard over the thundering assault of water.  
"So now that I've properly apologised, what are your plans for today? And if I so much as hear the word 'shopping' I am going to have a heart attack. I saw the bill. I don't even know how you do it. Those damn shoes cost more than some of my weapons used to."  
Loki smirked lazily and rolled onto his stomach.  
"Skill my love, pure skill."  
"Mad skillz?"  
"The maddest."  
"Gods I love it when you talk geeky. Say some science shit to me?"  
"I do believe that falls under 'nerdy' and no. You've had enough for one day, you've just showered and it would hardly do for you to make a mess of yourself again."  
"We'll put nerd talk to one side, save that for later, but in the meantime I have to find some other way of keeping you entertained. Any thoughts babe?"  
Loki hummed as he tapped his fingers across his lips, forehead creased in concentration before sighing exasperatedly.  
"I don't know Stark. Midgard is boring. If you could just convince S.H.I.E.L.D. to let me pay Doom a visit…"  
"No Loki. We all remember the last time you decided to take it upon yourself to torment the villains. Sending an army of ducks to their front doors with the note '_I have an army. It's better than the Hulk – Loki_' and then letting them crap all over the place, whilst endlessly entertaining, often increases the risk of civilian casualties during their retaliations. If you remember correctly, Doom released his bots upon a hospital. A _hospital_ for Christ sake."  
"I liked those ducks. Their leader was called Quackers. He was my favourite."  
"Are you even listening to me?"  
"I wonder what he's doing now. He was a natural leader. I'll bet he has what it takes to become an Avenger."  
"Okay I'm leaving now. I don't like it when you go on duck tangents. Better than the tiger tangent though. That one was damn scary. I still have J.A.R.V.I.S. routinely scan for our striped friends."  
Tony groaned as he left the room heading straight for the coffee. He didn't even care that it wasn't drinkable; he'd eat it if he had to. He just couldn't make it through another 'box of cats' moment with Loki without some sort of sustenance.

It was during his drink that he had another one of his blindingly brilliant brainwaves. He just knew Loki would love it.  
Well, he'd hate it initially, but he would grudgingly come to love it.  
It was also cheaper than buying him a make up present.  
Next on his list of 'break up items' was a private island, and Tony already had far too many of those. Though now come to think of it he wondered if there were a duck shaped island anywhere… No.  
No matter how much Loki protested, nor how convincing his argument might be, there was never any need for a duck shaped anything.  
_Anything_.

"My dearest otherworldly treasure, put your casual clothes on. I have a plan."  
"Pray tell what this plan is first my beloved?" Loki shouted back in his best despairing housewife impersonation.  
"Tell ya when we get there hot stuff. You're gonna love it though, I just know it."  
"I loathe you sometimes."  
"Love you too sweetcheeks." The engineer chuckled as the distant ruffling of clothing told him his partner was getting ready. He wasn't using magic. Delay tactics.  
Tony beamed.  
He loved having a God on the ropes.  
Surprising 'chaos incarnate' was always fun. And hazardous to his health. He tended to ignore that part though.  
Several drawn out minutes later and the trickster finally shuffled out of the bedroom with a carefully guarded expression set in place. He allowed his husband to link arms as he was dragged into the elevator.  
"If you would simply tell me where we are to go I could have us there instantly."  
"Nice try sneaky but that shit don't fly with me. We're taking the jag."  
"If you insist." Loki sniffed.  
When they reached the garage he was unceremoniously bundled into the car and treated to one of Stark's renowned shit eating grins. He hated not knowing things. Throughout the journey he was met with an unusual amount of silence, though Tony's excited bouncing spoke volumes. Loki stifled a groan as they passed by more and more landmarks he was certain he had never seen before. The sky was quickly turning a dusky blue, they must have been asleep far longer than he had realised. On the horizon he spied a mass of brightly coloured lights of all different hues and briefly wondered if they would how they would look against a pitch black sky. Surely Tony wouldn't just drag him out for the sake of some pretty lights?  
He really had had his heart set on Duck Island.  
He was going to call it Mallard Isles.  
It would be glorious.  
It was times like this however that Loki was painfully aware of his own insanity. Not so much that he would create an island of ducks, but more that he would genuinely enjoy owning said island.  
There would be a reindeer enclosure on there too. Purely to appease Tony, obviously.

As the car slowed to a halt, the engineer leapt out and flung open Loki's door. Tony was practically hopping from foot to foot with childish exuberance.  
"Well, whaddya think?"  
"I am lost for words. And that is a rarity for me."  
"Come on! Let's get tickets, you're seriously going to love this. Come on, come on! Stop being so slow and come onnn!" The mortal nattered taking his long suffering husband by the hand and pulling him onwards.  
"Tony, really, where the hell are we and why is it so loud?"

The avenger and pressed a kiss to Loki's cheek as he handed over an amount of money, far too much money, for two tickets to a bewildered young woman whose well wishes fell on deaf ears.

"This, my gorgeous deity, is a carnival! A funfair!" He announced throwing his arms wide with the revelation despite it meaning nothing to the Asgardian.  
"I have no idea what that is." The sorcerer deadpanned.  
"It's were you go on rides and play stupid little games to win crappy, obnoxious stuffed animals for your date and where you go to eat so much cotton candy you think you're gonna throw up afterwards. It's awesome!" Tony shouted wrapping an arm round the others waist.  
"That sounds horrific. What am I being punished for?"  
"Shut up sourpuss, I promise you you're gonna enjoy this. If you don't I swear I'll buy you a stupid piece of bird shaped landmass instead. What do you say?"  
"I don't know…"  
"Trust me?"

Loki smiled despite himself.  
That had done it. Stark could never know that those two words could convince him to do anything. He trusted that stupid mortal more than anyone else. His stupid mortal. With an exaggerated sigh he draped an arm across the shorter mans shoulders and pretended to check his fingernails in an entirely false display of nonchalance.  
"Fine. But I'll hold you to that."  
"All I needed to hear sweet thing."  
"Should you fail however Mallard Isles will finally be mine."  
"Remember what I said about you and the duck talk and me walking away?"  
"Fine. So what first?" The prince asked as he let the deafening flood of laughter, screaming and inane chatter wash over him, his eyes transfixed on the dazzling lights all around him.

Everything was so bright, so happy and full of life and hysteria.  
It was beautiful and chaotic and completely insane.  
"Thought you'd like it." Tony winked, nudging the God out of his reverie. Loki snorted and allowed himself to be dragged around.  
"I vote we go on the ferris wheel first. You know there's a well-known ritual that you kind of have to make out with your date when you're on one?"  
"I didn't think you needed an excuse to kiss me."  
"I don't. But I've always wanted to make out with you two hundred feet in the air with a spectacular view in the background. Is that too much to ask for?"  
The mage cackled and allowed himself to be steered in the direction of the enormous wheel. It hardly looked stable but a quick glance at the faintly buzzing man besides him stilled his tongue. Maybe all that exuberance was catching.  
"Ever the romantic." He muttered under his breath.

As the two were seated, a single bar pulled across them in the event one of them should try to fling themselves from the contraption, and one subtle bribe later, the ride finally started up. It was rickety, old and the frame had been re-painted countless times in various clashing, garish colours, the faint sounds of screaming metal was hardly comforting either but the way Stark held his hand and giddily rocked their seat back and forth more than made up for it. Loki smirked at the engineer besides him, for all the world acting like an overgrown child, and leant further into him. He felt an arm pull him in closer and warm breath on his neck.  
Tony turned Loki's face towards him and crushed their lips together. A sudden jarring however caused them to clink teeth painfully earning a throaty growl from the God. The genius chuckled and rubbed their noses together, staring into those ageless green eyes as he did.  
"Now you tell me this isn't everything you've ever dreamt of?" He grinned.  
"You're right, I've been waiting centuries for the day someone would assault my teeth with their own hundreds of feet in the air whilst fastened into a metal death trap that we had to pay to go on." The liesmith grumbled with only a hint of aggravation marring his gripe.  
"Come on you miserable git, just take a look around. How amazing is this?" Tony breathed before leaning back and gesturing at the world around them. The ride had stopped so that their seat was at the highest point, allowing them to preside over the entirety of the world beneath them at their own leasure.

Loki's breath caught in his throat.

Everything was beautiful. More than that, it was… It was simply breath taking.  
The sky had blackened with only the twinkling of far away stars to break up the nothingness, against it the endless sea of brightly glowing colours flickered and glimmered, bathing them in a vibrant mess of colour. In the distance he could make out the blocky mass of shapes that was the city, the glittering lights of the skyscrapers seemingly skimming the heavens.

Loki stared out over the boundless wonders open mouthed. Snuggling closer to Tony he leant his head against the others shoulder and snuggled deeper into the embrace. Tony smelled of cologne and soap and still vaguely of machine oil and metal. He knew Tony had won their little challenge. No Duck Island for him then.

That didn't seem to bother him much any more however.  
When Ragnarok came this is where Loki wanted to be.  
He could watch the carnage unfold and tear through the skies with Stark by his side and only the stars as witness to their final moments.  
When the end of time crept up on them, this is where they would greet it.  
"I love you." He all but whispered.  
"I love you to reindeer games." Tony replied without skipping a beat.  
Tony wasn't going to say he'd won.

That implied that this was a game.  
And whilst Tony Stark was infamous for treating most things like one big joke, his very life amongst them, this was one of those rare occasions when he was simply trying to do the right thing.

But if this had been a game, with Loki's happiness as the prize, he would pull out all the stops just to see that fragile, unguarded look of pure wonder and amazement again. Just for a little while.  
There were other things he should probably be doing right now instead of playing happy families with his secret husband, but whatever they were could wait.  
The rest of the world could wait for all he cared.  
He would _make_ the rest of the world wait until they were done.

…

:) Tee hee! I want to go to a carnival now :( More than that I want candy floss. I'm going to be away until Monday too, I'm off to Bloodstock festival! [I have to be up in three hours but we'll ignore that] so I'll try and have an update for you by Tuesday! :)))

Also I haven't had time to proof read through this one [3 hours sleep ] so I apologise in advance for any errors! :3


	31. Diabetes On A Stick And Other Bad Ideas

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: Sorry about the delay, got back from the festival and I was absolutely wiped :') I then decided to make some t-shirt designs and attempt to finish a painting of Cumberbatch. Neither ended well. I also changed my tumblr name to FoolMachina, because it's easier for me to remember :')  
Enjoy bitcheees! :D

…

"You used to be like a friend to me you know."  
"Huh?"  
"Before we ended up together. You were probably my first true friend. All the others were Thor's first and foremost; they were only mine through obligation. I tried to maintain friendships but people quickly grew tired of my tricks, my lies, my magic. In the end everyone grew tired of me. But not you. You laugh at me, with me, you tell me jokes and show me amazing, wondrous things. I mourned it slightly, when we decided to make a go of things, that you would no longer be my friend. I don't mind so much now as I think I have made others. It has only just occurred to me that I should probably thank you for that." Loki said with a small, wry smile. The engineer grinned and raised a hand to trace the curve of his partners cheekbones with his thumb.  
"I think you've probably thanked me enough, though if you've got some sort of special thanks in mind…?"  
"By the Norns Tony, I was trying to be nice and there you go lowering the tone again." The wordsmith groaned through his smile.  
"Oh come off it, if I'd said anything else other than a come on or thinly veiled euphemism you'd have started panicking. You're kind of bad for that you know? Besides, what brought on that little melancholy admission? This is supposed to be 'happy fun time night' not 'cry over how much of a loser I used to be' time!"  
"I was not a loser. I was a prince and an accomplished sorcerer."  
"You're also the mother of a horse and a whiny little bitch. Need I elaborate?"  
"Oh do shut up Stark. I'd rather not have to kill you before you win me something."  
"You want me to win you a stuffed animal?" Tony spluttered, momentarily caught off guard.  
"That is right. I demand you win me something. Unless you feel you are unable to live up to the task? I am sure Captain America would have no such trouble…"  
"Oh you're good. You sly little bastard. I am going to win the shit out of that stuffed animal, just you wait."  
"I await your inevitable triumph with baited breath." The trickster fawned, stifling a snort. Tony took the opportunity to press an unchaste kiss to his lovers mouth. Loki grunted in surprise as he felt the others tongue fighting for dominance before returning the gesture.

Beneath them the whirrings and groaning of aged metal started up again causing Loki to hastily break off the kiss to watch as the shimmering skylights disappeared from view as the ground slowly rose to meet them. His face fell slightly and had it not been so adorable Tony would have laughed. Instead he nudged the other and offered him a grin.  
Loki huffed.  
"Come on Princess. We couldn't stay up there forever. There are other people who want to see it for themselves. Admittedly none of them had to flash a fifty to stay up there as long but you catch my drift. Now what's say we break the 'no giving sugar to the Gods' rule and get you some cotton candy?"

Loki shot his husband a sly look out of the corner of his eyes, taking the others hand as he was helped out of the car.  
"I was aware of no such rule."  
"Oh yeah. Remember the aftermath of the sugar donuts and coffee debacle?"  
"No. I remember nothing of this. You must be mistaken." The liesmith said testily.  
"Liar. You remember damn well what happened. Your sugar crash lasted two whole days. Tell me again why you thought turning the roads into one giant slip and slide was a good idea? And why you removed the wheels on every single car in New York? And why you made it rain coffee? And-"  
"Whatever Anthony. Don't you tell me you didn't have fun."  
"Nobody is questioning the amount of fun I had that day, I especially enjoyed the bit when you turned the entirety of S.H.I.E.L.D. pink. Uniforms, equipment… eye patches. It was beautiful. The lynching Fury threatened us with however was not. And thus the rule was implemented."  
"What about Thor? He practically drowns himself in sugar and caffeine every single day so why am I the only one being punished?" The trickster demanded resentfully, snatching his hand away from Stark's so he could fold his arms tightly in front of him. Tony ran a hand through his hair but couldn't seem to dislodge the smirk smeared across his face.  
"How many times have you ever seen Thor anything less than painfully hyper, sugar or not?"  
"Fair enough. I'm really not that bad am I?"

Tony chuckled and pried one of the sorcerers hands free, taking it in his own he swung their arms back and forth wildly.  
"A bit of sugar we can handle. I'm sure we'll find other ways of dispensing all that excess energy, right babe? We don't even have to make it all the way back to HQ."  
"Right. Wait, what? I refuse to bed you in your car like some sort of common hussy Stark."  
"Nobody said anything about the car. Although it does make a fantastic bed away from bed. There are plenty of secluded places round here, and if you're feeling especially adventurous, we can go for round two on the ferris wheel. Really break that bad boy in." Tony beamed wiggling his eyebrows. He received a punch to the arm for his troubles but the motion was spoilt by Loki's cackling.

The two continued on through the park in a silence that was occasionally disturbed by Tony's insistence on pointing things out. Loki didn't mind much though, he enjoyed learning new things, especially when those new things were such concepts as 'roller coasters' and 'tunnels of love'. He wasn't certain on the latter, it sounded far too much like something Tony would enjoy, but for the sake of knowledge he would definitely look into it.

"Come on skinny, take this." The man of iron said thrusting a stick topped with… sticky to the slightly nonplussed God. Loki picked at it hesitantly for a moment, casting a cursory glance over it as if it might suddenly try to bite him. Tony watched him for about two minutes before impatience took over and he pulled a small amount from the mass of spun sugar and stuck it in his partners mouth. The Asgardian appeared mildly affronted at this but his expression quickly melted into something akin to childlike wonder.

Before Tony could blink the God was pulling more and more strands from the stick, licking his fingers happily after each bite.  
"Part of me thinks this might have been a terrible idea."  
"What are you talking about this food is amazing! I demand more of it." Loki grinned, forcing the empty stick into his husband's hands. Tony shook his head despairingly but obliged to his lovers command.

Chances were this would end badly, but who the hell was he to deny the man of his dreams, sticky, sickly, messy sweets?  
A better man probably, but Tony have never claimed to be one.

"Well then, what next icky?"  
"This, this, this!" The immortal yelled bouncing on the balls of his feet before dragging the shorter man towards what looked like the most unsafe rollercoaster in the universe.  
"You have such a danger fetish."  
"Shut up and come on! Come on, come on, come o-"  
"I get it Loks. Look, I'm paying the man, now if you could stop buzzing around me and get in the car that'd be great." The engineer smirked as Loki practically leapt into his seat. He was practically shaking with an unhealthy combination of candy and excitement. Tony kept hold of the trembling deity's hand as the car lurched into motion. He laughed harder at the manic grin that his lover wore during the sudden descents than he thought he'd ever done in his entire life. Disturbingly enough, the last time Tony had seen that look was during the extremely hostile takeover phase. It didn't bother him nearly as much as it probably should have done.  
"Again, again, again!" Loki giggled as the car slowed to a halt.  
The hero continued to laugh as he handed over another fifty to the operator.  
The makings of a long night were already well underway, he could tell.

The two spent another twenty minutes on the ride until Tony almost had to forcibly remove his significant other from the car before shoving him towards something he just knew the mischief-maker would love.  
The way Loki's face lit up at the new discovery caused Tony's stomach to flutter like a lovesick teenagers.  
"Well my darling, would you prefer your own steed or to accompany me on mine?" The playboy charmed. The liesmith carried on giggling until he was sat upon one of the carousel horses with Stark perched behind him. Tilting his head back he beamed up at Tony's face, nuzzling the bristles of his goatee with his nose. The mortal kissed the length of his partners neck in response and was rewarded with a throaty laugh.  
"I do believe this was one of your better ideas." Loki offered as he sat up.  
"I'm sorry but I don't remember ever having had a bad idea."  
"Really though, tonight has been fabulous. Thank you Tony."  
"The night's not over yet chuckles."  
"I don't want it to end." The trickster muttered quietly. Loki's temporary lapse into dejection was rapidly thwarted however as he felt broad arms pull him close. Shuffling backwards into the hold he couldn't stop the delighted shriek escape his lips as the ride set into motion.

The next few minutes were a euphoric blur of bright, flashing lights and dizzying happiness. He wished this moment could go on forever.

As the ride inevitably ended and he reluctantly slid off the wooden horse, subconsciously patting it on the nose as he did, he looped arms with his husband and allowed himself to be led elsewhere.  
"More diabetes on a stick my darling?" Stark suggested, noting the others crestfallen expression. The wordsmiths lips quirked upwards at that.  
"I would love some dearest."

Tony watched in awe as Loki shovelled (_classily_ shovelled) a third helping of cotton candy into his mouth as the two wandered the length of the fair.  
"It's not fair that you can look so damned attractive whilst making a complete pig of yourself you know." Loki merely snorted a retort and continued eating, allowing Stark to steal the occasional piece as they walked.  
"Oh Gods, we've got to go on these next." Tony suddenly exclaimed, yanking the trickster over to another ride.  
"What's this one called?" Loki asked as he swallowed the last of his snack, staring balefully after it as he binned the stick.  
"These, my staggeringly glorious sugar fiend, are known as the waltzers. If you're not sick after these I'll buy you another cotton candy stick."  
"You'd buy me one anyway."  
"That is true, but this one will feel even more rewarding if you manage to not vomit."  
"This sounds disgusting."  
"Excited?"  
"Very. Let's go!" Loki snickered as Tony threw money at a man as he lowered the bar over their legs.  
"Just going to warn you now, we're going on this like, four times in a row and if you're sick on me I swear I'm never letting you leave the tower again."  
"I am a God Stark, I am perfectly capable of withstanding the effects of any of your silly mortal contraptions. Do not worry yourself, your clothes will be fine."  
"Shame the same can't be said for your dignity." Tony quipped as the ride set off with a lurch.

Nearly fifteen minutes later and the two men staggered uncertainly off the platform. Tony had to spend the next five minutes after that rubbing circles against his husbands back as the deity retched in a corner, one arm pressed against a chain-link fence to steady himself.  
"Still want that cotton candy?"  
"Still want the use of your legs?"  
"Was that a yes?"  
"Maybe. But not yet. I would rather sit down a minute first."

Tony guided the slightly green trickster to a nearby bench and disappeared momentarily before returning with a drink.  
"Here, wash your mouth out with this oh master of mortal contraptions."

Loki took the drink wordlessly as he used the fizzy liquid to rinse his mouth out.  
"Have I ever told you how sexy you look dry heaving?"  
"Ugh. Don't. Please, no more mention of retching." Loki pleaded, resting his head against his partners shoulder. The engineer snickered and toyed with the mage's fingers whilst he recovered.

"Still having the best night of your life babe?"  
"Definitely. Wouldn't change a thing about it." Loki smiled kissing the shoulder beneath him. "I do love you Tony."  
"I know it. I love you too. Vomit and all."

…

:B Oh the mush. I spent about £20 during the festival on the waltzers. Not even sorry. My friend and I made it a ritual to go on them every single night. Fucking love those things :D  
Hope the wait was worth it, and sorry again for the delay!


	32. Void

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: Just want to say that I just read through all my comments so far and thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed! [and the ones that haven't, I know there are some of you out there that are regular viewers, so thank you too :B] Here is le newest update, enjoy!  
Also thank you for the feedback on the whole rating debacle thing, gonna keep it as a T, I think it's cool for a T. Sorry if I've mentioned this before, again, 5 am, should not be trying to type coherent things :')

…

"No. I don't trust you."  
"Aww, come on! I swear I won't try anything."  
"Lying to the God of Lies, well played Stark."  
"But baaabe! Come on! It's the tunnel of lurve!"  
"I swear if you ever pronounce 'love' like that again…"  
"Promise after this we'll go back on the carousel and the ferris wheel."  
"…Promise?"  
"Scouts honour."  
"I don't even understa-"  
"It's go time!"

Loki resigned himself to being bundled into an obnoxiously pink boat with a particularly pronounced sigh. Tony didn't appear to notice as he jumped him besides him.  
"So how long does this ride last?" The immortal asked wearily.  
"Normally about five/ten minutes or something I think, but you know, if the thing were to break down…"  
"What have you done? Oh Gods Tony, I am not coupling with you in public."  
"Again, never said you had to. Have I ever told you how you're the only person I have ever met to use the word 'coupling' and still make it sound sexy?"  
Loki groaned and pretended this wasn't happening as the little boat slowly sailed deeper into the ridiculously dark tunnel.  
He was not going to give his husband the satisfaction of getting one over on him on a fair ground ride.

Twenty minutes later Loki staggered on uncertain legs off the boat, hastily adjusting his shirt as he disembarked. Tony hopped down after him, blatantly zipping up his jeans and grinning widely to anyone that looked at them. A woman passing by shielded her child's eyes, as if Tony's smugness were some deadly disease, and shot the two daggers.  
"Mention nothing of this to anyone. Do you hear me?" The liesmith half snarled.  
"Yeah, yeah, sure thing hussy."  
"Did you just call me a-"  
"Hussy. Yep. Tony Stark just used to word hussy and has the gall to not even be ashamed by it. I'm a terrible person, I know." He laughed, wrapping his arm around his partners slim waist.  
"Let us return to the carousel. After more of that sugary stuff on a stick."  
"This is like, your fifth one now, you sure about this? Hell why am I even asking you, you're certain, am _I_ sure?"  
"Yes, you are, now- Tony what is that noise?"

Tony grimaced as he reached for his phone. This was supposed to be a mini romantic retreat, the guys knew better than to call him.  
Oh.  
Shit.  
"Bruce, what's going down?"  
"They're heading straight for you. Suit, now!"  
"Who's coming for me? What the hell i-" His words were cut short as the line died. No amount of re-dialling put him back through to Bruce and none of the other Avengers would pick up, not even J.A.R.V.I.S could patching him through. Making a break for the car he gestured for Loki to follow.  
"Situation?"  
"Bad."  
"Backup?"  
"None, looks like we're on our own princess. Uglies heading our way, don't know who or what but I'm gonna need the suit. You work on evacuating the fair, wear the horns, people listen more when you're horny."  
"Poor choice of words." Loki snickered.  
"_Intentionally_ poor choice of words." The lone Avenger corrected as the magic user flickered from view, armour materialising as he went. Tony stared after him a moment, he never could quite get used to the whole disappearing act thing, his phone suddenly going into overdrive again quickly snapped him back to the situation at hand.  
"Hey Jarv, updates?"  
"Creatures we have never previously encountered sir. I took the liberty of scanning through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database and they have no records that fit these particular beasts."  
"Where the hell are they coming from?" Tony demanded as he slid across the bonnet of the jag.  
"Agent Romanoff has sent word that a portal has appeared in the centre of the city, the creatures appear to be pouring through from there, though some of them are splitting from the main group and racing towards you. I have no other information regarding the current situation; all contact with your teammates has been cut. You are on your own sir."  
Grabbing the briefcase and slamming the car door behind him Tony was briefly distracted as floods of people began pooling into the car park, desperately trying to put distance between them and a raving God.  
"Not on my own. Loki's got my back."  
"Good luck with that sir." The automation responded with a hint of smarm.  
"You cut out that sass right now or else I swear I will re-programme you with Clint's voice."  
"Please do not sir. My accent is part of my identity, it would be remiss to change such a thing."  
"Hold up. You think you have an identity? Oh God, sentience, right, this is not the most serious thing going down right now. When I get back we are going to have a serious chat about this. Oh God, it's like 'i Robot' all over again and I'm Will Smith." The engineer rambled as he switched off his phone and activated his suit.

The plates were in the middle of encasing his arms when a grey blur made a dive for him. Stumbling backwards Tony allowed himself to fall, the suit still snapping into place around him, inches away from the ground with a mass of teeth and claws bearing down upon him the final piece clicked into position. Firing up the boot repulsors he shot forwards, narrowly missing the creature now struggling to its feet after its face plant into the ground.  
"Loki, hon', you there?" He wondered aloud, praying his other half had remembered the headset along with the rest of his costume change.  
"Little busy now Stark. What is it, are you alright?" Came the harried reply.  
"Ha, don't worry about me, these things are eating the dirt. Speaking of 'these things', just what the hell are they? They look right up your street."  
"I've come across them before, vicious little bastards, and nothing if not persistent. They're called Lichs. They are exceptionally responsive to magic and feed off it. Everything gives off some, usually a minor, degree of magic, they feed on it all. They will drain the life force right out of you and this is not the time to argue semantics Tony, magic, energy, science it's all the same thing! I can hear you mentally preparing to argue! Now are you going to ask me how to stop them?"  
"Well uh, yeah, so how do we stop them?"  
"Bash their fucking skulls in you moron!" Loki snapped, and then the Man of Iron heard a different kind of snap and decided the time for talking was well and truly over.  
"Oh, and Tony?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Be careful."  
Tony sighed softly, but loud enough for his partner to hear.  
"I will. I'll dispose of these leech-y things by the entrance and work my way back round to you. Happy hunting babe!"  
"_Lichs _Tony, Li-"

The engineer disabled the com mid rectification and slammed his foot down upon the skull of an oncoming nasty. He felt the splintering of bone through the metal of his boots and cringed. He hated getting the suit dirty. Who knew how hard it was going be to get the stains off?  
Monster blood was always a bitch to get out.  
And he hated how often he had to contemplate that.

Veritably wading through gore he managed to eventually re-group with the sorcerer who seemed more than a little worse for wear. Tony dropped down besides the his husband and pulled him to one side, blasting away a particularly grisly looking Lich as he did.  
"You look like shit."  
"Thank you, Stark, for your outstanding observations."  
"What the hell happened? Did they swamp you or something?"  
"Did you listen to nothing I told you?"  
"Come again?"  
"They feed on magic. What am I but an amalgamation of flesh and magic? I am most likely the biggest source of wild magic on this tragic little planet, or at the very least the closest to their spawn point. It is no wonder they sought me out. Their very presence drains me, I can kill them, but the longer I spend in their company the weaker I grow."  
"Let's do something about that shall we?" Tony offered with a wide grin. Loki merely stepped back and gestured to the advancing hoard of monsters with a wave of deference.

Both shoulder panels slid back noiselessly as several missiles appeared in their place, Tony watched on the hud as each beast was targeted before firing. With a satisfying splattering the threat was immediately cancelled as the slimy monstrosities fell to the floor in lifeless, bloodied heaps.  
Picking chunks of meat from his suit the Iron Man grimaced behind his visor.  
"Thank you. Though I _could_ have taken them out myself." Loki stated, sidling over with an air of anything but humility surrounding him.  
"Sure thing sweetcheeks." Tony laughed, patting the God on the rump before snatching him up in his arms. "Now what say you and I get to joining our comrades?" He didn't wait for a response and instead jetted off leaving the snarling deity clinging for dear life round his neck.  
"Tony? T-y? Are -u-ere?"  
"Natasha, that you? You're breaking up, I can barely make you out. Co-ordinates. Now. We'll meet you there."  
"-tside HQ -rry!"  
"HQ? Got it. Hold on to your cat suit Nat we'll be there in a minute. Literally one minute. Make that forty second- oh wait 30. No, no, 18… Whoa hey there Widow! Missed us?"

The Widow looked less than impressed by the love birds arrival but internally she breathed a huge sigh of relief.  
"Portal opened up here about half an hour ago, we thought we could handle the things-"  
"Lichs." The loresmith interrupted.  
"- that were coming out of it, but there's just wave after wave of them." Natasha continued, deftly ignoring Loki's comment. "We need to close that gateway and we need to do it now. Luckily we've managed to avoid any serious civilian casualties but it's been a close call. So far we have twenty something people seriously injured and about forty or so with minor wounds. We did our best to evacuate the immediate surroundings but the damn things just won't let up! Loki, can you do something about that portal?" She finished; breathing just a little more deeply by the end of it as if she'd had that debriefing building for a while.  
"Yes, possibly. It would be most beneficial to us however if I could find out where the rift originated, I have an idea but I can't be certain. Can you buy me some time?" The trickster asked, glancing over to where the interdimensional egress lurked.  
"How much do you need?" She asked drawing her pistols, emptying their ammo clips and re-loading.  
"Ten minutes. Can you give me that?"  
"Make it eight and we have a deal." She quipped with a smirk, darting back into the fray and unleashing her bullets onto the unsuspecting masses.  
"See you on the other side." Tony beamed, lowering his visor for a fraction of a second to plant a kiss squarely on his lovers lips. Sidestepping around the God he took off, tearing through the legions of mindless minions, carving a path for him through the crowds.  
"Gods I hope so." Loki whispered to himself as he raced towards the glowering doorway.

As he broke through the barriers between the worlds his limbs underwent a moment of weightlessness and his head swam as his mind tried to catch up with the thought of being suspended in absolute nothingness.  
And then he was careening towards the ground, skidding to a halt as his feet slipped over the silt like surface. Ash clouds erupted all around him as he slowed to a halt, knee deep in bone and dust.  
There was only one place this could possibly be.  
In all the Nine Realms there were none as desolate as this.  
Hel.

He had landed a ways from the gateway, but already the streams of beasts had grown aware of his presence and were now branching off to intercept him. Thinking on his feet he used their bodies as stepping stones, taking great pains to avoid their gnashing teeth, hopping from one writhing body to another until he was a mere hairsbreadth away from the portal.

His arm went through first when he felt something latch onto his leg. Pain seared through his ankle and it was as if a light went out inside him, he felt the magic flooding out of him and his body went limp. In a moment of blind panic he thrashed wildly but his body seemed to betray him at every turn and his arm slid out of the rift. Flailing like a man deranged he tried desperately to grasp the intangible gateway, he was so close.  
So close.  
As more and more of the damned monstrous leeches swarmed his still falling form he felt his body break as he was pulled one way and his magic another. Crying out in an agony that went unnoticed by the rest of the universe he felt the last sliver of hope he'd held onto die.  
Something clawed at his outstretched arm and he snarled at the newest of intruders twisting the limb in a desperate attempt to wrench it free, though his eyes were still fixed on the creature savagely ripping his ankle to shreds.

Fingers coiled around his forearm and pulled.  
He tumbled head first into the nothingness and suddenly the void didn't feel quite as empty any more.  
"Met you halfway, thought you might want company on the way back." Tony beamed, his smile a beacon in the otherwise desolate vacuum.  
Loki didn't even have the energy to thank him.  
Instead he allowed his body to fold in on itself and was comforted infinitely by the cold metal embrace that greeted him.

…

Eeee, voids. Voids are fun.  
Also beware, hints of something that might possibly become something like a mini plot. I don't even know. I should have a plan for this shit instead of writing each chapter on a whim :')


	33. The Pretender

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: Have to deal with family over the weekend so i'll try and have another update for you by Friday :))))

…

He felt the rush of fresh air against his skin as soon as they touched back down in their own dimension. The breeze helped lift some of the ash from his clothes and hair though his face remained streaked with the persistent grey dust. Shoving his partner away from him Loki began tearing off his armour. The helmet went first, thrown to the side and discarded like a meaningless trinket and that was when the rest of the Avengers first began to worry. Gold plates and leather buckles dropped to the ground around him and he couldn't help but drop to his knees; even armour-less the burden of standing was still far too great.

"My staff." He cried, exhaustion bearing down upon him in great, crashing waves. "My staff, where is it?"  
The team on the ground shared a glance before one of the assassins stepped forwards. Unhooking the still scratched and ever so slightly mangled weapon from a strap across her back she held it out to him. He didn't move an inch to claim it.

Frowning faintly, concern marring her features, she threw it to him instead. Loki raised an arm to catch it but allowed the metal to slip through his fingers and clatter noisily to the ground. He couldn't work up the will to care at this moment in time. The Widow returned to her position, keeping Loki clear to do whatever it was he needed to do, with Tony as back up. The team were all caught up in their own individual battles, reducing the ever-advancing numbers and keeping them contained within the immediate area.  
Tony had taken it upon himself to blast away anything that attempted to force its way through the portal before it could break through, the less Loki had to worry about the better.

The God in question raised the staff and slammed it into the ground, pushing down on it in an effort to regain his footing. As he made his way unsteadily to his feet, rocking gently from side to side, he wondered why the hell he had even bothered returning to this wretched planet.  
Oh, yes.  
Tony.  
Thor (to some degree), and the promise of friends.  
Bastarding friends.  
Grunting, he lifted his weapon and aimed it directly at the gateway, words slipping across his tongue that he only half understood but ones that his magic apparently had mastery over, what little magic he still possessed anyway. Tony leapt aside just in time as a bolt of emerald tore through the air and slammed into the void. The unfortunate creatures still trapped between worlds were ripped in two; their bodies suddenly denied the right to occupy both worlds at once.

With a shuddering breath that rattled his bones, Loki once again fell to the ground. Bracing himself against the staff, the only thing keeping him sitting upright at this point in time, he prayed he was just misreading the signs, that his weakened state was just playing tricks with his mind.  
The gnawing hole burrowing through his guts told him otherwise.  
He choked back a sob and hoped the Avengers would be busy a while yet.

Luck was just not on Loki's side this day however as his teammates disposed of the remaining monsters relatively quickly after that. Fury had sent word that agents had been dispatched across the city to round up and slaughter any remaining Lichs and that the team was no longer required to stick around now that the immediate threat had been dealt with. Clint clambered down from his perch atop an upturned bus and clapped Steve on the back as the solider tucked his shield beneath an arm. Natasha crossed her arms and turned her gaze to the shaking deity on the floor. Tony was already by his side and attempting to soothe the apparently irate immortal. Thor and Hulk landed nearby and made their way over to the group.

"Leave me be Stark. Just… go. I will make my own way back." The spell caster spat venomously as he swatted away a crimson gauntleted hand.  
"What's wrong? Loki, come on, you can tell me. We won! That's good, isn't it?" Tony asked with an uncertain smile. The rest of the team stood just behind the Iron Man and even Thor seemed reluctant to comfort his brother. He also had a vaguely haunted look about him that his friends chose not to question.  
They were sure all their questions would be answered in the painfully near future.  
"It's gone. It's all gone." Loki rambled running his hands through his hair.  
"What's gone Loki? We can find it, it's fine, come on." The engineer tried to reassure as he edged closer to the wild-eyed deity.  
"No, no you won't. You can't. It's _gone_, it's gone oh Gods. I don't believe it. I- I refuse to believe it, it can't really-" A desperate, panic stricken cackle cut off whatever else it was he was about to say, he couldn't stop the laughter. Still rocking, nonsense bubbling up and out of his mouth amidst manic laughter, Loki could only imagine how ridiculous he must look right now.  
"His magic." Thor breathed, the words leaving a lingering tightening in his chest as the breath fled his lungs.  
"No, it can't have. He's still conscious! Last time he used up all his magic he fell into a coma, he's still completely with it! It has to be something else." Tony tried to reason, his logic falling on deaf ears.  
"That was an extremely rare occurrence, an isolated incident on might say." Loki chuckled, his fingers still knotting themselves in his hair as he tugged and chewed the inky strands. "It's all gone. I feel nothing. I felt my body break in Hel, the ties leashing me to my power snapped and I was freed of it. I used the last of it to close that portal. That stupid, insignificant rift. Why? I knew, I must have done, that this would happen."

No-one had an answer for him, even the Hulk refrained from interjecting and it was well documented that the two shared no love for one another.

Loki continued to rant, seemingly unaware of his audience now.

"I should have left. Kept the last shred of my power and ran. I could have built on that, could have kept something. I- What do I do? My magic was all that I had. It was a part of me, I can't do this. I don't- I. Tony. Tony please, _what do I do_?" He begged, tearing his fingers free of his hair so he could cover his face with his hands. He felt the pricking of tears in the corners of his eyes and knew if he allowed them to fall now they would not stop. He set up all his barriers, walled in his emotions and locked them as far away from the surface as he could.

And then Tony took him in his arms and all the walls came tumbling down.

As the debris of his mental blockades crashed down around him he wailed. His voice rose to a scream; so bitter, so anguished and so utterly _terrified_ that his teammates turned their backs.  
They did this not out of shame.  
They would not leave him, not now.  
They were his _friends_.  
They would let him weep away from their prying eyes, he would have his downfall all to himself, and Tony.  
He deserved that much at least, a scrap of dignity for him to cling to once the tears dried up.

The man of iron lifted his visor and brushed his lips against the lids of his husband's eyes.  
"If you don't want to open your eyes yet you don't have to. The world can last a little longer without you having to look at it."  
"It isn't looking at the world that I mind." Loki whimpered. "It's the world looking back I can't handle. Not right now. Not when I'm so… so _mortal_. It's pathetic!"  
"Don't you dare. Don't you fucking dare. You are not pathetic. You never will be. You're weak now, yeah okay, I can see why you'd hate that, but this won't be forever. It never is. I will do everything to get you your magic back. Even if I don't completely believe in it."  
"You'll believe it when I use it to flay the skin from your bones." The liesmith snivelled.  
"See! Optimism hidden behind not so thinly veiled threats still counts in my books!"  
"But what if it never comes back?" Loki asked with a little more bite as he was helped to his feet, taking great pains to avoid putting pressure on his mangled ankle.  
"Don't think like that. It's not worth it. You had some magic left when you closed the portal so we know it's not completely gone. You can build on that right?"  
"I don't know Tony, I don't know and I'm just to tired to care anymore."

Tony hesitated as he hooked one arm under his husbands, Loki was never usually this compliant whilst still mostly conscious. The trickster leant his full weight against the suit and allowed himself to be lifted and carried bridal style. He forced his eyes shut again and rested his head against the cool metal, remembering Stark's words about not having to look at the world.  
Sometimes it was just easier to pretend, so Loki pretended to let sleep claim him.

He had lived his entire life suffering through one embarrassment after another.  
Stuck within the confines of his brother's shadow, it had always been easier to close his eyes and wade through life half blind, because what was the use of trying to see in a life submerged in darkness anyway?  
When everything became too much to handle Loki would simply close his eyes.

Loki was very good at pretending.

…

Goddamn feels.  
Also;  
Plots within plots.  
Shit's starting to feel like Avengeception.


	34. Unlucky With Nicknames

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: If I have time tomorrow I might be able to finish another chapter before I go, otherwise it'll be Monday for the next update :))) Hope you enjoy!

…

"Anyone ever told you how sexy you look with a limp?"  
"Not now Stark."  
"Or when you insist on calling me 'Stark' even though we're technically married."  
"Seriously. Tony. Not in the mood."  
"I like it when you're not in the mood. Gives me a chance to put you in one."  
"Do you remember me threatening to flay you? That was not an idle threat."  
"Come on princess don't be like that."  
"I'm not being like anything!"

Tony sighed dramatically and dove onto the couch besides his thoroughly unimpressed partner. With a squawk of indignation Loki attempted to fight back against the hold Tony put him in and was instead dragged across the couch until he was sat on the engineers lap. Smoothing his mussed hair he cast his lover a poisonous glare before crossing his arms and turning his head away, nose pointed in the air.

As soon as the battle had been won and Loki's unfortunate condition outed, nearly delirious with pain the former spellcaster had blacked out not long after he realised his wounds would have to heal the mortal way. Tony had flown his husband directly to the medical bay where the surgeons did their best to save the immortals leg. His ankle had been mangled. Some of the cuts had managed to nick bone and if nothing else it only paid credit to Loki's inner strength that he had attempted to stand on it several times, even without the aid of his magic.  
To say Tony was proud of him would be a monumental understatement.

In the days following the incident Loki had appeared sullen and withdrawn, more so than usual and with less Diva-ish antics.

Any attempts at consoling the prince had fallen on deaf ears with the well-wishers and hope givers usually turned away with a severe tongue lashing. It didn't sit well with Tony to see he husband wasting away infront of him as he spent his days staring vacantly out into space.  
He decided then and there to put a stop to it.  
It wasn't like Loki could chase after him any way if he really did mess things up.  
Besides, his partner seemed to be in a slightly better mood today, this was the closest Tony had gotten to him without being slapped.

"What you running away from?"  
"Excuse me?" Loki stammered, swivelling around as quickly as he could with his leg in a cast. Tony cast the trickster, who was now awkwardly straddling his lap, an appraising glance before leaning back and folding his hands behind his head.  
"You. You had your eyes closed and I know you weren't sleeping. You've been like this for days."  
"How would you even know that I wasn't sleeping?" The wordsmith snapped.  
"I watch you in your sleep. Duh."  
"Tony that is beyond creepy. Please refrain from doing that."  
"Never gonna happen sweetcheeks. It's the only time I can talk to you and get the last word in." He smirked, toying with the other mans hair as he did. He knew berating an already wound up 'supreme being' would most likely result in actual bodily harm.  
Like he cared.

Loki tilted forwards and stared deeply into his husbands eyes, angling the others jaw slightly, turning it from left to right. He tapped his finger sharply on the engineers nose and leant back, a small smirk toying at the edges of his mouth.  
"Liar." He smiled, allowing Tony to snake his fingers between his own.  
"You got me. Wait, how the hell could you tell I was lying just from that?" Tony asked waving a hand in front of his eyes.  
"God of lies, fool. Or did you forget?"  
"Wait… So were you lying about calling me a liar then, because I do actually do both of those things."  
Loki's response was a devilish smirk coupled with an equally mischievous wink.  
"Well at any rate, you seem a little less suicidal now. You sure you're feeling ok? You can tell me if you're not." Tony inquired, slipping one of his hands around the Gods waist and resting it in the small of his back.  
"I am feeling much better now husband. I think it might have something to do with the painkillers they have put me on. I don't know what they are but I feel fabulous today. All the colours are… very colourful."  
"Oh Gods. I have a high as shit Norse God sat on my lap with a cast on his leg and 'Hulk sad for little God. Feel better now.' written on it in pink sharpie. My life is complete."

Loki chuckled and leant forwards, wrapping his arms around his partners neck and resting his head against the others.  
"Do not mistake my cheerful disposition for ignorance. I am still very aware that I am little better than a mere mortal now. No offense."  
"None taken. Seriously though, you wanna talk about it? This whole… No magic shtick?"

The deity groaned quietly and shook his head. He paused a moment and then nodded instead. Tony kept one hand against the arched back and raised his other to gently clasp the back of the pale neck, squeezing it reassuringly.

"I feel wrong." Loki admitted after a lengthy lapse into silence. Tony remained silent and lightly brushed his fingers up and down the tricksters neck. "I feel empty. Like a part of me is missing. Have you ever felt as if you've been split in two and the other half has been lost to you?"  
"Once or twice. Go on."  
"I don't know what else to tell you Tony, it's gone and it hurts knowing I might never reclaim it. But what can I do?"  
"Just wait it out, wait until your leg gets better and you've recovered a little. The drugs probably aren't helping productivity wise. Trust me."  
"You have to stop saying that."  
"What?"  
"'Trust me.'"  
"Why?"  
"Because I do. Implicitly."  
Tony huffed something incomprehensible and kissed the side of the tricksters neck.  
"Why didn't you run? When you knew the risks, you knew what could happen but stayed and helped out. You've said it before that you're not an Avenger and you have no real desire to be one, so why act like one? You could have lied, told us you hadn't enough magic left, bought yourself some time… But you didn't."  
Loki groaned again, louder this time.  
Tony knew he was on the right track. His husband wasn't nearly as guarded when he was dosed up on Gods only knew what.

Before he replied, the deity used the engineer to steady himself while he balanced on his one good leg and turned around. Dropping back onto the shorter mans lap, and with some difficulty, he managed to swing both his legs onto the seat until he was practically draped over the billionaire. And in an uncommon display of gentleness and willing submission, he lifted his husband's hands and prompted for the man in question to take hold of them. Tony readily obliged, clutching the slender fingers tightly.

"In the very beginning I sacrificed nothing to be with you, quite the opposite actually, I only stood to gain from your companionship. You on the other hand ran the risk of losing everything you had ever worked towards simply for wanting to be with me. How could I not want to protect you? If we had left that rift open eventually something much worse would have crawled through. There is a reason it's called Hel. So losing my magic to keep you alive a little while longer… It was a worthwhile sacrifice, and I suppose it was about time I gave something back."  
"You don't owe me jack Loki. Nothing. Nada. You've already saved me more times than I can count, and I can count damn high. I would never ask you to do that for me, to give up everything for me. If the worst happens, and I'm not saying it will, and you can't recover your magic I- I don't know Loki. I'm not sure I could live with myself. Your magic means everything to you."  
"Not quite everything." The trickster admitted with a cold smile. He raised their entwined hands to his chest and held them there.  
"Loki…"  
"Hush, lover. I cannot say I love you more than my magic because that would be an unfair comparison. I need my magic, but I do not love it. It is a thing, nothing more nothing less. You on the other hand, I need _and_ love you, so by rights that makes you so much more valuable to me. I cannot promise my sanity will hold out what with half of me missing but I'll try. For you."  
"I'll love you no matter what. Whether that be you fighting by my side, fighting me in the bedroom or fighting against a straitjacket."  
"Mental is the new sexy, or didn't you get the memo Stark?" Loki grinned. Tony barked a laugh at that and gathered the God in his arms as he stood.

Manoeuvring around the couch he made a beeline for the bedroom and was swiftly intercepted by a black blur followed by a bright orange streak that stuck itself to Loki's cast. The two glanced at it and Tony had to shift his load until Loki was able to reach over and pluck the object from his leg.  
It was an arrow.  
A toy arrow, one with a little suction cup on the end.  
And with it came a note.

_'Get better soon Rudolph. We don't exactly know what we're looking for, but we're all searching for your magic. Natasha also asks can she borrow your red heels seeing as you can't walk right now. I think she's already taken them though. Oh and Bruce says he wants to sign your cast because it's not fair that the Hulk got to and he didn't. Steve's been walking around with a sharpie too just in case he ran into you. Thor has the whole 'kicked puppy' look going on, we told him he could visit you tomorrow just to get him to stop moping. Sorry.  
Also you both suck. X  
-Hawk'_

"Because we wouldn't have known that it was cupid sending us this note without him signing it? Idiot." Tony snickered as he read over Loki's shoulder, a habit the taller usually abhorred. The liesmith smiled with barely repressed happiness and suddenly lost himself in the thought of having friends who cared.  
"Come now, my little sacrifice, I do believe you were taking me somewhere." He purred, the chemicals flowing through his blood pleasantly maintaining his currently brighter demeanour.  
"Oh yeah, right, bath."  
"Bath? I thought we were going to bed?"  
"Bath first. You kind of stink. You haven't even showered since you've been back and I mean, what even is that smell? It's like dust and corpses and… yeuch. So bath first for you, then bed."  
"Wow. That has got to be the single most unromantic thing I have ever heard. And I've eavesdropped on Thor trying to 'woo' Jane before now."  
"Not my problem stinky."  
"Do not call me that."  
"Fine then, come on icky. Wait, haven't I called you icky before? I kind of like it. Tell you what, I'll even let you break out the rubber ducky."  
"I do not require a rubber ducky to take a bath." Loki sniffed as imperiously as he could from his bridal style position.  
"No you're right. It might get a bit crowded with three of us in there."  
"Three? Oh. Oh! Bath, right. Hurry it up then Stark, I'm filthy and need scrubbing down."

Tony faltered, almost dropping the God in the process.  
"You need to lose your magic and fuck your leg up more often. Whatever those painkillers are they've got you on, keep taking them. Take them forever."  
"Love you too creepy."

…

Gotta love unfortunate nicknames.


	35. Never Change

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: This chapter makes mention of drugs, and though I am neither openly condoning or discouraging their use I thought I should just mention it beforehand.  
To be fair though I'm surprised I haven't mentioned them sooner. Also this chapter is a little break before I actually continue with the mini plot type thing as i'm still not home yet.  
Bitterworm is just a made up plant too :))  
And!  
'These Boots Were Made For Walkin'' – Nancy Sinatra  
'Glamazon' – Rupaul [thank you Vikishus for that one]  
Also literally every song from Jamiroquai, just because.  
You'll know when you get there ;)  
Enjoy!

…

Tony awoke to the sound of groaning.  
_Not_ the kind of groaning he was used to waking up to.  
Rolling onto his side he nudged the other man who appeared to still be asleep. After a moment of mild thrashing and sleep distorted curses the green eyed God turned over wearily and draped an arm across his beloved.

"Did I wake you?" He asked, his words dulled by a nagging pain in his ankle. He wasn't sure how long it had been aching but he knew his dreams that night had not been pleasant ones, possibly the effects of his medication wearing off. Tony shrugged off his question with a kindly smirk.

"Nah, I always wake up at the crack of dawn. I watch you sleep remember?"  
He received a palm to the face for his efforts.  
"Painkillers. Now."  
Tony silently complied, reaching over to the bedside cabinet and pulling a packet of industrial strength looking tablets from the top drawer. He fumbled for a glass of something but was saved the effort of getting up for one when the trickster testily snatched the pills from his hand, took one and dry swallowed it. The engineer pulled a face as he was handed the packet back.  
"Babe, do you even know what's in these things?" He asked carefully, he'd put money down on Loki have no idea but in his weakened state and desperate for pain relief he'd be past caring as long as they did the job. The deity waved the question away, pulled the covers up to his chin and wriggled closer to Tony who had no choice but to cease his interrogation.  
Cease it for the whole of thirty seconds that is.

"I mean, recreational drug use, whatever, wooo! I'm sure Banner's secret is weed, never mind that whole 'I'm always angry' BS, but seriously, normal meds shouldn't have this effect on you."  
"It was Banner that gave them to me. Dunno what's in them but I like them. You get them taken away from me and I'll turn your spine into a scarf. Let me sleep."  
"Banner? Pain relief isn't his department. That scumbag! I knew he was holding out on me when I asked him if he had anything stronger for hangovers."  
"S'nice. Lemme sleep now."  
"Sure thing babe." Tony murmured as he made to leave the bed. A gentle tugging on his arm gave him reason to pause. When he looked down his trickster had looped their arms together. The man of iron slid back besides the softly snoring prince and held him as he slept. He didn't even mind when he felt the tell-tale pooling of drool forming by his face, indicating his lover was now well and truly asleep.

He closed his eyes and let his mind wander.

It quickly delved into a seemingly incomprehensible world of numbers and letters, half formed codes and fragments of equations glided by the underside of his eyelids until he found what he was looking for.

Magic.  
It wasn't something you could just nip down to the store and pick up in bulk. It didn't, to his knowledge, grow on trees. Though Loki would probably attempt to convince him otherwise given the opportunity. Simply stated, you couldn't just acquire it. And given his husbands reaction to the sudden usurping of his power Tony felt it was safe to assume that what he had been left with was literally all he had remaining.  
Losing magic and using it were apparently two very different things.  
So how would you even go about regaining voodoo?

Pinching the bridge of his nose he sighed loudly and slipped from beneath the covers. He watched with a trace amount of guilt as the still sleeping God pawed at the empty space besides him for a moment before taking command over the newfound influx of duvet. Leaving the room he mentally thanked his AI for preparing in advance as a pot of freshly brewed coffee was already waiting for him. Tony didn't even bother finding a mug he just grabbed the pot and headed straight for the library.  
This had all the markings of a long night.  
Or in his case, a forty eight hour day.

Loki awoke to blinding lights, jarringly loud voices, and a damp face. His vision swam hazily before him and his first thought was 'why the hell are the Avengers in my bedroom?' quickly followed by 'where the hell is Tony?'.  
"Hey guys! Our favourite princess has stopped tripping balls and finally returned to earth!" Clint yelled over the roar of gunshots and dying enemies, not allowing his eyes to stray from his game for even a second.  
"Brother! It is good to finally see you awake and looking… well!" Thor greeted as he sat between the archer and his sibling, pulling the smaller God into a bone crushing bear hug. Thrashing wildly for a few minutes, the air brutally ripped from his lungs, Natasha finally pulled the trickster from his brother to which Loki shot her an extremely grateful look.  
" 'Well' might be a bit generous, he still looks sickly but his comedown could be partially to blame for that." The Widow added giving the lankier frame a sharp prod. Loki yelped and tried to shuffle away but quickly discovered there was little left of the couch to shuffle to thanks to the bulk of his brother.  
"How did I end up here? I was asleep in bed, what foolish mortal had the gall to move me?" He demanded, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.  
Natasha laughed and patted him on the head in the most patronising manner she could.

"That foolish mortal would be you Loks. Don't you remember?" She laughed pressing his head to her stomach. "You wandered out here about three hours ago in nothing but your boxers and a scarf whilst listening to your iPod. You then proceeded to lie upside down on the couch, a very impressive feat considering the state of your leg, and sang rather loudly along to whatever song was currently playing. There was a lot of Jamiroquai at one point and then a song to do with a 'Glamazon' or something? We were kind of worried but it was too funny to stop you. Then about an hour ago you just sprawled across the couch and fell asleep again. Steve threw your bed sheet over you, though I'm not sure whether that was out of the goodness of his own heart or if the sight of you in next to nothing was just a bit too much for him to handle."

Loki stared open-mouthed, glanced down at his body and confirmed that he was only wearing boxers and a scarf and noted the headphones and music device on the floor by the couch.  
"I remember nothing of this." He spoke into the assassin's midriff. She chuckled and stroked his hair in a kindlier, less patronising manner.  
"How's the pain?" Clint asked, eyes still intensely focused on his gore filled screen, fingers flitting like lightening over the controller. Loki grabbed a handful of sheets and pulled them around his bare shoulders like some sort of makeshift cape.  
"Better, I think. The colours are still pretty intense but the rest of my body just feels numb. It's not entirely pleasant but much preferable over the pain. I am not sure what to make of my 'trip' however. Midgardian narcotics have never had that effect on me before. Apart from that one time at that club… That was amazing." He trailed off wistfully. Steve's head snapped up at that one.  
"You do drugs Loki?"

The immortal arched an eyebrow at the soldier and tried to look more impressive than he felt dressed nothing but his underwear, a scarf and a blanket.  
Thank Gods he wasn't wearing his reindeer boxers.  
Or the reindeer scarf.  
Or the snowflake bedding.  
Damn Stark and all his antlered friends to hell!

"Of course my brother has sampled these stimulants, he is a sorcerer after all, they often test many of the substances they find on themselves in order to accurately document their effects." Thor stated, oblivious to the true nature of Loki's partaking.  
The God in question coughed and raised his hands in the air defensively.  
"Also; Did, I _did_ do drugs. I decided to stop when they made me think my own magic was trying to seduce me. That was a particularly terrifying weekend. And for future reference never try to use magic to create copies of yourself to hide from the magic in question, it doesn't work. Magic is clever. And having several identical versions of yourself locked in the same room as you when you are convinced they are attempting to have their way with you is the quickest way to a heart attack that I have ever found." He grinned sheepishly.  
"You thought your magic was trying to _seduce_ you?" Natasha choked, her eyes growing comically large. Thor was grinning inanely, trying not to look his brother in the eyes for fear of laughing outright.  
"Do you recall the Bitterworm incident brother?" He asked as innocently as he could with that idiotic grin plastered across his face. Loki snorted and covered his mouth with a hand, trying to stifle any more unwarranted snickers.  
"Aye brother, that I do. One of the best weeks of my life from what little I remember of it. The conversation I was forced to have with mother afterwards however still remains one of the single most uncomfortable and embarrassing points in my whole life."  
"Hang on, what? Don't you be holding out on us here Mr High-Flier! Give us the details or so help me God I will upload the video of you upside down singing to 'These Boots Are Made For Walkin'' all over the internet." Clint threatened, abandoning his game to shuffle closer to the soon to be shamed deity.

Loki had the decency to look remotely alarmed for a fleeting handful of seconds before composing himself.  
"Since you asked so nicely Barton, _fine_. I had heard tell of a rare plant called the 'Bitterworm' root. Supposedly it held many magical properties among which included various healing qualities and something that increased the power of destructive magics. Obviously I had to seek it out and when I finally discovered it after several days of constant hunting I rushed straight back to the castle to continue my studies. I acquired several of the plants and tried to replicate their natural environment so they might continue to grow. I made extensive notes on the fauna, drew diagrams until finally there was little else to do but actually try it. I was woefully unprepared for its affects.

"Thor had been present when I took it in case I suffered from an allergic reaction and remained on hand to assist me to the healers should I require it. He began to notice something was amiss when after an hour of feeling nothing I suddenly began laughing manically and chasing my fathers ravens, Huginn and Muninn, around the great hall dressed in nought but leather trousers and a feathery cape. To this day I still have no idea why I own a feathery cape. It is fabulous though."

Loki groaned and rubbed his jaw as the memories of centuries long gone flooded his mind. Thor egged him on eagerly.

Clint and Natasha were now perched on the back rest of the couch listening completely enrapt in his story, whereas Steve on the other hand looked hesitant as to whether or not he wanted to hear the rest of the tale. Bruce was also listening in, Clint had texted him to meet them in the kitchen, but as he was busy with science things he had simply had J.A.R.V.I.S. patch the audio and cam straight through to his room. Tony had had the same idea, and still buried nose deep in books, was listening to the tale via his tablet.  
Technology truly was a blessed thing.  
Loki reluctantly continued.

"The only things I recall in great detail about that entire week were the ravens, being unbearably happy and finding shiny things utterly fascinating. I also had a great desire to be extremely close to people all the time. At one point I sat on Odin's lap during a trial and refused to budge. I also turned the poor man awaiting his sentencing into a coqatrice, essentially a fire-breathing rooster. Please bear in mind I was still only wearing the leather and feathers, although by this point I believe I had acquired my helmet too. Anyway, despite only remembering these few particular things, according to the unfortunates who had to deal with me on a regular basis, my mood was prone to shifting from 'hysterical with joy' to 'frighteningly descriptive psychotic outbursts'.

"I also slept with a lot of people. I mean, _a lot_ of people. And perhaps calling them people is too kind. I mean one of them was a giant wolf and another was simply a giant. And that wasn't even the half of it. There was a thing with tentacles, winged things and … I'm sure you get the picture. Suffice it to say possibly only half of my consorts were humanoid. It was made clear to me that I refused to remain in just one world whilst I was… _inebriated_. And since I still had full control of my magic and knew of many hidden ways to travel between worlds there was little they could do to stop me. It took seven days for the effects of the drug to work off. I distinctly remember waking up all of a sudden, as if someone had just poured a bucket load of ice down my back, still wearing only my helmet, leathers and feather cape with my face buried in my mothers skirts and weeping about how it wasn't fair that there was so much glitter in space and that I had so little of it. I really wish I didn't remember saying that."

He was abruptly cut off as a hysteric bout of laughter tore through the tower, Tony and Bruce could be heard over the coms and Clint appeared to be struggling to breathe. Natasha and Steve were just as bad and Thor was actually weeping tears of joy. Loki waited patiently for them to cease their noise before continuing.  
Recounting this was far more embarrassing than he had anticipated but he hated leaving a story half told and so forced himself to go on.

"So when I awoke, looking like some ridiculous birdman and covered head to toe in a glittery substance, I was promptly reprimanded by my parents who were both equal parts amused and ashamed. I think it was the pregnancy scare that pushed them over the edge, this was only a couple of years after Sleipnir after all, and especially when they found out it was with the 'Thousand Legged Wurm'. Frigga suggested I should try sleeping with people with the normal amount of legs to avoid any more grandchildren with more than the usual amount of limbs. And also to stop bedding monsters. She said that too. More out of concern for my own safety than anything else I believe. She doesn't really care where her grandchildren come from as long as birthing them doesn't literally tear me in half. I can appreciate that sentiment.

"Oh, and in the midst of my root induced madness I came out to my parents. If I recall correctly my exact words were "Mother, I just thought you should know, I really like cock." She had to ask whether I meant the animal or… you know. The comedown from that damned root was so bad I spent the entire night being consoled by my mother who had to keep telling me that I was beautiful and not a whore. In my defence I would have only been about the equivalent of nineteen Midgardian years old. I think I dealt with it pretty well over all." He finished, clapping his hands together to signal the end of a tale well told.

He had assumed they would stop laughing somewhere around the five minutes later mark.  
He had assumed wrong.  
After thirty minutes of constant laughter and watching his friends struggle to form coherent words in the midst of their gleeful uproar, Loki limped back to his bed with the blanket still fastened about his shoulders muttering something about being surrounded by terrible people.

As he crawled onto the mattress he hesitated before reaching for the painkillers, his companions laughing still ringing in his ears.  
In the midst of his indecision a stabbing pain tore through his leg, the sensation left his ankle feeling as if its bones had been boiled inside his own skin and reflexively he swallowed another tablet.  
Grimacing, he lay down, tugged the sheets over his head, and tried to drift off to sleep.  
Rest did not come easily however and after a long while of tossing and turning he found himself reaching for his phone.

_'Sent from Loki Laufeyson  
to Tony Stark_

_After recounting tales of my troubled  
childhood to your friends I am suddenly  
finding myself feeling extremely self-  
conscious. Please come back and tell  
me I am beautiful and not a whore.  
I genuinely don't know any more.  
Also bring ice cream.  
And my helmet.  
Love you.  
X'_

…

Oh Loki. Never change.


	36. Volatile

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: I was going to try for a double upload tonight but I'm still packing for my holiday that I'm going on tomorrow. I'm getting away for my birthday for a week tomorrow night, Amsterdam yeahhhh! :D I promise I will try to get another chapter up tomorrow but it's going to be so hectic I don't know if I'll be able to! I'll do my best though!

…

Tony didn't arrive. Not for a long while.  
Loki was beginning to give up hope of seeing his husband before he drifted off to sleep again. He felt the slightest pangs of guilt at brushing him off earlier that day but it was just so much easier to sleep. He wasn't used to dealing with pain for prolonged amounts of time without being able to do anything for himself. He'd have been able to patch himself up with his magic in no time. And then afterwards he'd usually be required to put his silver tongue to good use and try to talk his way out of whatever situation he'd gotten himself into.  
His words wouldn't do him much good now though.

He was tired constantly, in pain constantly, and his desire to fix himself at an all time low. He could scarce keep up the energy to function and when he did have energy it was only because he was so far under the influence of whatever miracle pills Banner had given him that his thoughts were barely coherent anyway. He'd already divulged one of his more embarrassing moments to the entire team without so much as a second thought but now, in the dying moments of his high, he was seriously starting to regret his loose tongue.  
He just wanted Tony here.  
Another hour crawled by, the pain in his leg flaring up again to the extent that Loki lashed out and pounded his fist against his thigh, tears of frustration threatening to surface.  
"Loki, hey whoa whoa, calm down! Shh, come on, I'm here now." Tony soothed as he darted over to the bed besides his husband. "What's wrong? Come on Rudolph you can tell me." He offered with a weak smile. Taking the tricksters hand into his own, uncurling the pale, trembling fingers he placed the others hand to his lips and pressed a reassuring kiss against it. Loki turned his head away, balling his other hand into a fist he tried to knuckle the tears away.  
He blinked a couple of times, hissing at the dampness on his cheeks and closed his eyes as he felt warm fingers gently stroke the side of his face.

When he opened his eyes Tony was lying next to him.  
"Apologies. I'm not quite sure what's gotten into me. There was no need for tears." He managed, his words clipped and stony.  
"You're fed up, in pain, frustrated, angry, weak… There're a few reasons for ya. You also just told the best story of how you're the worst person ever too. I always did have you pegged for a mommas boy."  
"With Odin's less than stellar parenting are you honestly that surprised?"  
"Well… No. When you put it like that, but in all fairness you were sort of a problem child weren't you? That doesn't mean I'm defending him in any way though! But you did get knocked up by a horse age what, eighteen? And you appear to have made a habit of getting off your face and causing chaos. I do love how you ran to your mom though. That's kinda sweet."  
"Please be quiet now." Loki snivelled, wiping his nose discreetly and rolling over to face the shorter man. "And it was seventeen. My Gods, seventeen and pregnant, sounds like one of your terrible Midgardian reality shows. The horse is just another nail in the coffin."  
"Wouldn't have been the worst claim to fame I've ever heard of. I can just imagine you in a pink tracksuit and pigtails with a pram in tow. Hottest. Trailer trash. Ever."  
"A pink track suit? Have a heart, I'd wear a green or gold one at least. I am royalty after all."  
"Gold. Gotcha. Gonna buy you one now."  
"Now all you need to do is impregnate me and I'll have use for that pram." Loki quipped.

Tony fell oddly silent.

"It was a joke Stark."  
"I knew that." Tony coughed, giving the prankster a shove.  
"Did you really?" Loki asked, quirking his eyebrow, an amused grin toying with his features.  
"Of course I did." The engineer huffed as he pulled his partners face towards his chest, muffling the well-spoken voice when it tried to retaliate. The immortal grunted and pushed himself away enough to have his voice heard.  
"Actually, as awkward as this conversation makes you feel, we probably should have it. We should have discussed all this before we got married really but the less said about that debacle the better. " He smirked.  
Tony groaned loudly.  
"Really Loki? We're having the 'kids' conversation while you're on a massive come down from some hard-core painkillers and I'm… well, me."  
"Now is as good a time as any, husband. So, children… Do you want them?" The deity asked. Tony felt all the potential replies and retorts he could've spoken turn to dust in his mouth.  
This was bad.  
The look on Loki's face spoke volumes as Tony continued to struggle through his silence.  
"Perhaps we shouldn't broach this conversation then. It's late. I should get some rest." The dark haired man said flatly, he sat up sharply, grabbed the bottle of painkillers and twisted the cap but before he could take one a rough hand fastened around his wrist. It wasn't vicious, or particularly painful, but the grip on his skin was fierce in the way that someone holding on to something might grab at their only tether. It was desperate.  
And it wasn't like Tony at all.  
It took the deity aback.  
He lowered the pills and turned to face his lover and noticed the downcast hazel eyes that slowly travelled up to reach his face.

"No. We should definitely have this conversation now. I think now is as good a time as any. If you ask me again later I'll only deflect it again and again, and I don't know how many more times I can take that look."  
"What look?" Loki spluttered, his eyes widening slightly at the accusation that he was not the master over his own facial expressions. He was a master liar and manipulator. He did not simply give away such vital 'looks'.  
"I can't describe it Loks. It's too much like disappointment and resignation and despair and I never want to see that expression again. So I'll have this conversation with you now and we'll try and work our way through it as best we can, 'kay?" The engineer tried his best to explain, removing his hand from the others wrist to run it through his already tousled hair.

Loki nodded.  
Now was hardly the time for eloquence, he didn't need pretty words and glib remarks, he just needed the truth.

"I want children." He stated with a level of bluntness that surprised himself. "More children I guess. With you. I don't know when and I think we can both guess how, but I do want them. That's it. That's all I've got." The wordsmith declared raising his hands in the air and resting his hands on his thighs.  
Tony nodded along, running his finger across his lips and furrowing his brows in concentration. Time crawled by at an agonisingly slow pace before he spoke again yet Loki's face remained impassive.  
"I don't want them. Or at least I never did. It's not that I don't want kids it's just that I don't want to be a father. Never have. I'd never make even a halfway decent parent and let's be honest with each other now, I'm hardly husband, hell even friend of the year material, there ain't no way I'd ever make dad of the year with my track record. I'm not going to bring a child up in a world where I won't give it the love and attention it deserves through no fault of its own. I know you want a family, the whole sprawling suburban house with the tire swing outside and children crawling out of the woodwork. I didn't know that back then but I know it now. And I'm so sorry but this is the one thing that I just can't give you." He finished. He couldn't meet those emerald eyes, he couldn't stand to see the way they were looking at him.  
"Can't or won't?"  
"What?"  
The deity straightened his back and flexed his fingers against his legs.  
"Are you unable to give me children or do you simply refuse to?" He asked again, clarifying his question.  
"I've just told you, I won't. I can't. It's the same damn thing!" Tony snapped more harshly than he'd intended. Instead of flinching away Loki rallied himself and shoved the shorter man, his lips curled back into an ugly sneer.  
"Liar. You know that's not true. None of it. You want this as much as I do. You're just too scared to let yourself believe for even a second that you could lower yourself to the same level as the rest of the human race because you might actually enjoy not being the centre of the fucking universe for once!"  
"Don't even presume to know how I work or why I do what I do! Fuck Loki what more do you want? You wanted an answer, yes or no, do I want kids? And I said no. Leave it at that."

The prince grabbed his husband by the throat and pulled their faces closer until they were mere inches apart.

"I want you to stop lying to me! I know, the irony hurts, the God of Lies wants to stop being lied to! I would never force you into something you truly didn't want but I know you. I know what you are. You are a good man. An arrogant, insufferable, foolish waste of skin but you are a brilliant and fantastic fool all the same. And at the end of the day you are still just a man. Strip away all the genius and money and issues and traumas and what do you have left? A husband, _my_ husband. You are _my good man_ and you are _lying_ to me. Tell me the truth. Please? I won't care what your unique brand of logic has to say on the matter, I just want to understand. Give me that much Tony." Loki begged, his fingers splaying over the exposed neck until their touch shifted from volatile to desperate.

"I can't. It's not that easy. If I tell you… I don't want to ruin what we have and trust me, this'll do it."  
"There are few things you could ever say to me that would manage that." Loki said with a tight smile.

Tony shook his head sadly.  
"Why don't you want children?" Loki urged.  
"I do." Came the Avenger's reluctant reply.  
Loki smiled a little more genuinely at the sound of those two little words.

"I just don't want them with you."

…

I know. I'm a dick.


	37. Mother of Monsters

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: I DID IT! Fuck yeah! :) Enjoy guys and I'll see you in a week!

…

In his vast lifetime spanning countless centuries there had only ever been one or two moments over that immense expanse of life that had ever truly struck Loki Laufeyson speechless.  
This was such a time.  
And for all the reasons that kept him awake night after night.

He had never been truly speechless before this moment he realised with numb fascination. There had been occasions were his tongue and words had failed him, fallen on deaf ears or their meaning had simply gone awry somewhere along the way. But now he was left with nothing. He choked on air he quickly realised he wasn't breathing and inhaled sharply.  
Sharply enough that his husband grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him roughly, yanking him back into the real world.  
The deity recoiled and shook his head slowly, blinking

"I didn't mean that in any of the ways you're thinking."  
"I don't know what I'm thinking. Why wouldn't you want children with _me_? Is it because I'm a man, I could change that! Or is it because of what the Norns call me, the Mother of Monsters, because it's not true I swear it! Our children would be beautiful I'm sure of it, so why? Why not me? You fucking bastard answer me!" The trickster screeched, raising his arm to strike the shocked expression from his partners face. Tony caught the hand before it connected but failed to stop the other.  
He heard the slap before he felt it.

He could feel the blood rushing to his cheek and didn't let himself react to the stinging he felt in the wake of the deity's hand.  
And then there was that look.  
Infinitely worse than the one he had tried so hard to avoid.  
He shut his eyes on the world as his husband was so wont to do and tried to explain.

"I love you Loki. More than you could ever imagine. And you were right, you always are. I do want children, always have, but until now I'd tried to never really give them much thought. I want a family and I want all that domestic-something-like-normality-crap that everyone else has. I want that with you. But we can't babe. We just can't."

Loki stared at him with unseeing eyes. His breath hitched and at first he had to physically refrain from launching himself at the man besides him, but then he heard it. It sounded like something broken, something like resignation to a fate he had never wanted but had long ago accepted. It sounded like what he must have looked like.  
He opened his mouth but only a melancholy whine escaped.  
He had been a fool. Such a bloody, great fool.

"Loki? Please, this isn't your fault. It's not really mine either, it just can't happen. If we did have little demigods running around the place I'd wanna to be there for them, to watch them grow and thrive. I'd want to see them at their greatest and be there for them during their worsts. I want all the pitfalls and trials and heartache that having a bat-shit mental family has to offer, I really, really do. But I can't. I can't be there for them. Just like in a handful of decades I won't be there for you either. This isn't about wanting, it's about time. It's always about time. And we just don't have enough of it." Tony reasoned, resting a hand against the side of his lover's neck, his thumb gently ghosting the wordsmiths lip.  
He could have cried.  
These were the words he had never wanted to say, the things he'd never dared speak aloud before and now there they were. Hanging in the air for all to see. He'd created a verbal noose and it was quickly tightening about his throat. He knew that the next words out of Loki's mouth would either pull it taut or sever it.  
Which is why, much to his surprise, the trickster said nothing.

Instead, the God drew closer and allowed his lean frame to fold into Tony's, filling in the gaps between them until only one body was discernable. The engineer wrapped his arms around the frail form and held on as tightly as he could. He gritted his teeth and tried to pretend that his spouse's tears weren't happening.  
Loki allowed the tears to fall. He didn't care if it showed weakness. Taking up spell-casting, pursuing magics and books, laying with another man, regardless of species, had all been acts of weakness and bearing a child had been an even greater one, but he didn't care. In this moment none of that mattered. Strength, appearances, reputation, none of it meant a single damn thing.  
He let Tony hold him and he tried to let the comfort of the embrace wash over him. He tried, but it didn't work.

Because as much as he wanted to hate the man who had reduced him to this worthless, whimpering wreck, he couldn't. All he had done was voice the vital flaw in their prefect little world that they had both spent so long desperately trying to avoid.  
It couldn't last.

Theirs was a love designed to span the ages but not built to endure it.

"I understand." The silver tongue managed weakly, his admission jarred and wet as his eyes continued to stream. He whined into a tensed shoulder as he felt calloused fingers stroke his head, carding through his hair in a vain attempt at consolation.  
It wouldn't work but the gesture was not lost on him.  
"It's not that you're the only person I don't want them with. It's just that if I can't have children with you then I don't want them at all. I'd never felt like I needed them until you came along. I can go without, if it means we can still stay together, for however long that might be. Do you think we can work through this, can this be fixed?" The genius asked as he staved off his own impending breakdown.  
This was all getting a bit too much, a bit too real and a bit too much like a genuine issue.  
Tony Stark was the man renowned for always finding 'another way out'. There had been that one time with the nuke but he liked to believe that was the exception that proved the rule. Now he wasn't so sure it had been an isolated incident.

"No, Tony. You can't fix it. I've looked, I've researched. Even with all my magic, it was useless. There is only one place in the universe where I know for certain holds the key to immortality and that place was long ago sealed away from me aeons ago. I tried Tony. I'll try again and again but I know it'll never change! Why? Why does this always happen? Am I truly cursed to be alone, to constantly ruin the lives of others by burdening them with mine own existence? Why do you still love me Tony, answer me that! You could have had all this; love, marriage, heirs and heiresses, you could have had it all with another mortal, any mortal! And I would not have known love, for I honestly do not know what I will do in a universe that doesn't contain you. It is a bitter pill to swallow, accepting that one day I will have to face a tomorrow without you in it. I don't think I can. And you know this, I have made you a part of it, I have bound up guilt so tightly within you that when you depart this realm it will be the last thing you know. So tell me Tony Stark, make me understand what it is that stops you from screaming every time you lay eyes on me." Loki spat, his bile aimed inwards, despair turning his insides black with every breath.

Tony rubbed wearily at his eyes.  
"I know how all of this will probably end. I'll grow old and you'll keep on living, as beautiful and insane you as ever were, we won't leave anything behind that in a few millennia can be traced back to us and eventually people will forget. You'll forget. You'll find someone else, and whether or not you care for them as much as I think you do for me, they'll do. You'll settle for them because it's anything to stave off the loneliness isn't it? You'll do everything to stop yourself from being all alone in the big, dark universe, won't you? And I wouldn't blame you. I only want for you to be happy. Even if it's not with me.  
"But I haven't given up hope yet. Not entirely. And neither should you Loki Stark. There's always a way, I don't know it yet and I'm not completely certain I ever will but there is one. There has to be. Everything has an answer, sometimes it just takes people to realise they aren't asking the right questions before they get it. If you give me time, and I know how big of an ask that is, but if you can just give me some more time I think I can fix this. I can fix _us_."

Tony buried his face in the soft, black tresses and bit back a sob.  
"I can do it Loki. I know I can. I just need you to waste some more time with me until then."  
"It's nothing but a pipe dream Stark." The God murmured, slowly peeling himself away from his husband. Sliding his legs gingerly across the edge bed he stood up and hobbled to the other end of the room and placed his forehead against the cool glass of the window. He sighed and watched as his breath condensed against the clear surface, dragging a palm across it he wiped the mark from the pane. He beat the flat of his hand against the clear wall and snarled at the city stretching out before him.  
He had barely had a minute to appreciate the coolness of the air against his mostly bare flesh when warm hands slid down his sides, the skin left behind as their touch continued south tingled and elicited an unbidden, throaty, growl from the paler male. Tony laughed into the caress as Loki raised his other hand to the widow as if to brace himself.  
"We're not that good at dealing with the life changing talks are we? I've noticed it nearly always dissolves into sex part way through. Funny that." The engineer mused aloud.  
"Apparently not. Did you mean what you said about believing you can sort all of this out? Do you honestly think you have enough time?" The wordsmith asked calmly.  
"I do." There was nothing else to say really, Tony thought. That was about as good a reason as he had. He had conviction, if not a solid foundation for his belief.  
"That's good enough for me then. I'll wait for you. No matter how long it takes."  
"You have all the time in the world."  
"And you don't. Yet you insist on wasting what scarce time you do have left standing here talking nonsense to me when I'm perfectly willing to have sex with you right now up against this window."  
"That is all the proof I need that there is a solution to our situation. There isn't an entity alive evil enough stop me from tapping dat for all eternity."  
"Do get on with it Stark else you might find your already short lifespan grow ever shorter rather rapidly." Loki added with a smirk.

They might be incapable of holding a legitimately serious discussion with legitimately serious repercussions for any length of time, but neither man was foolish enough to misunderstand what had actually just transpired.  
They had acknowledged that they were doomed.  
But acknowledging something isn't the same as accepting it.

Time wasn't on their side. They had no idea where to start, next to no clue on where to go from here and no magic.  
What they did have however was one of the brightest, snarkiest minds in the known universe, a God with a penchant for cataclysmically diva-esque antics and a marriage that had the potential to survive the end of the world itself.

Tony liked those odds and though Loki was too preoccupied at the time to say it, he quite liked them too.

…

It's party time mo'fo's. I promise things will pick up too after this, I think this little scene needed to happen before some other things get set into motion. Farwell bitches! I will see you in several fantastic days :D!  
Also, as terrible a person as this makes me, I absolutely loved the reviews and reactions for that last chapter!  
But I couldn't leave you on that note before I went so here's this chapter and I hope this makes it all a little better! Also I got 12 reviews in just over 5 hours so I am immensely grateful to everyone who commented and everyone who has commented since! :D


	38. Hold Up Lanky

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: Amsterdam was awesome :DDDD Haven't fully caught up on sleep yet and 20 hours on a coach is horrific but it was all sooo worth it! Got back at half 2 this morning and managed about 5 hours sleep so my brain is a little mushed. And thank you everyone who reviewed! One of my chapters got 18 reviews and you have no idea how happy that made me :D! And thank you all [again] for the kind words and compliments! It made the coach ride home a little more bearable reading them :)!

…

Loki had been left alone with his thoughts yet again.  
It didn't bother him as much as he felt it should have done given the previous nights conversation. He couldn't fault his husband on his logic, though the execution of his admission had left a lot to be desired. The wordsmith filed that one away under 'Areas for Tony to improve'. It was a small mental file admittedly. There weren't many things that Loki would change about his partner. Stark's being able to form fully functioning and completely non misleading sentences which could lead Loki to causing him actual bodily harm before any explanation was offered however was definitely up there. That and using his throwing knives as little pretentious toothpicks.  
Gods he hated that.

But no, he was happy really. Tony wasn't perfect by a long shot but then again nothing about their situation was. And that was what made it work. They created more problems than they solved, but once in a while it seemed like everything would just fall into place and, for a little while, what they had would _seem_ perfect.  
He could only pray that they were due for another breakthrough.  
He sighed and covered his face with his hands. Sliding off the bed he hobbled into the kitchen. He had managed to refrain from taking any painkillers despite the stinging pain in his leg being severe enough to make him grind and grit his teeth. He'd suffer through it though. He wanted all his faculties intact for as long as possible.

"Brother! It is a fine day is it not? How are you feeling?" A familiar voice called, causing all the furniture not currently bolted down to rattle as it sounded off. Loki frowned and considered throwing himself down the nearest elevator shaft. He chided himself on such a thought however; it should be Thor heading down there, not him. He had barely made it to the breakfast bar and grabbed an apple from the often neglected fruit bowl before Thor began assaulting him with an endless barrage of well wishes, concerned questions and general niceness.  
It was just too much for a Monday morning.

"Thor, if you do not cease your pathetic mothering I will be forced to kill, or at the very least maim a small, innocent, puppy. How would you feel about that Thor?" He asked with as much deadpan as he could muster. The expression his adoptive brother shot him in retaliation only made him more defiant.  
"I would not like that at all Loki, but even you cannot resist the charms of puppies. Perhaps a less cuddly animal could face your unquestionably Godly wrath?"  
"Are you sassing me Thor?" Loki asked, genuinely shocked.  
"I would never dream of such a thing." The thunder God grinned, sliding a knife towards his incapacitated sibling. Loki accepted it silently and began cutting slices from the fruit, keeping his eyes trained on his brother all the while.  
"So what do you want, other than to check up on me like the over grown mother hen that you are?" He asked after a while of whittling away the apple until all that remained was the core. Thor shifted nervously.  
"Nothing much. I just wanted to check in on you, see how you're doing… I will not pretend to understand how you're coping without your magic so I'll settle for just assuming that you are and that if you do want to talk about it you'll come to me. How does that sound?" He asked, rubbing an arm unconsciously as Loki chewed thoughtfully on his last slice.  
"Aye, that sounds acceptable. Sounds like you're learning brother, I didn't think you had much room for grey matter under all that hair." The mischief-maker added with a sly smile. Thor chuckled but continued to fidget almost apprehensively.  
"Ah, but whilst I'm here… Have you seen Tony?" He added hastily. Loki saw through his attempt at disguising his question as nothing more than an afterthought instantly. It intrigued him as to why Thor would try so hard at appearing nonchalant more than it riled him. He kept his face completely neutral and spoke as if he hadn't noticed a single thing.  
"I haven't seen him since last night but I have no doubts he'll crawl back here at some point today. Why do you seek him?"  
"No reason. He asked my opinion on something and I have an answer for him, that is all." Thor said with a forced grin.  
"Tony Stark asked your opinion on something? I had no idea he was interested in such banal questions as 'how many times can you bash a bilgesnipe in the head before it dies?' Though I suppose you would be the man to ask in that case." He sniped light heartedly as he threw the apple core at the blonde. The taller man caught it easily and tossed it into the bin on his way past.  
"I am glad to find you in such high spirits brother. I do worry about you."  
Loki nodded and waved him on.

A small part of him still hated how that was one of the only things his brother never lied about; how much he still cared.

Once the other God had left the room the trickster made his way slowly back to the bedroom, closing the door behind him he fell back onto the bed and 'hmmd' quietly.  
"J.A.R.V.I.S. where is Tony right now?" He demanded.  
"Mr Stark is in the library at the moment. Do you wish to be put through to him?" The AI replied, unperturbed by Loki's uncommon rudeness.  
"No. That will not be necessary thank you. Are you sure he's in the library? Shouldn't he be in the lab working on his suit?" He replied, a little less testily than before.  
"I am not qualified to speculate on what Mr Stark should and should not be doing."  
"He's told you not to tell me hasn't he? And please stop with all the formalities, we're married now, you can call him Tony."  
"As you wish Loki. And yes, you are right, he has expressly forbidden me from telling you what he's doing."  
"And why would he do that I wonder?"  
"I have no idea sir, but he mentioned nothing about me attempting to stop you from finding him should you wish it, in which case he is at the far end of the library on one of the couches at the end of row E."  
"Thank you. You have been most helpful as usual, I doubt I will ever understand why Tony is constantly afraid of your obviously impending grasp on sentience. I like it. That will be all."  
"A pleasure as always sir." The automation charmed before leaving Loki to his thoughts once more. He chewed a piece of hair absentmindedly as he rolled his hand over the bottle of painkillers.

Taking them could cause him to lose control over his tongue, a lesson he had already painfully learnt. But here was the chance to finally find out what Tony was up to and curiosity was a powerful motivator for the God of Chaos. With a firm resolve he swallowed one of the tablets, pulled on a worn pair of sneakers and grabbed a discarded crutch from beside the bed. This was going to be a long walk.  
And damn did those drugs kick in quickly he thought as the room spun around him dizzily for a few seconds. Shaking his head he set off on his grand expedition to the library that was situated several floors down from where he was now. He tapped his fingers impatiently against the walking aid as the lift made its way to the top floor at what appeared to be a snails pace. Stepping inside as soon as the doors slid open he jabbed at the appropriate button and secretly hoped it would make the journey downwards slightly quicker.

He made it as far as the third floor down before he was interrupted.

"Hey Loki shouldn't you be resting?" Natasha chided without taking her eyes from her phone. She was wearing her office attire today, meaning Pepper probably had her doing something undercover whilst masquerading as her personal assistant. He arched an eyebrow but decided he didn't care enough to bother asking, instead he huffed at her comment and leant all his weight on the crutch.  
"I am perfectly capable of wandering around, my leg is a nuisance at the moment, nothing more." He said. She grunted something incomprehensible and continued to pour over her cell. Tapping the screen a few times she tucked the device into her blouse and pressed the ground floor button, grabbing Loki by the arm when he tried to get off at his floor.  
"Natasha! Unhand me woman, I have things to do!" He whined after failing to brush off her vice like grip.  
"Not a chance. You're coming for a coffee with me. I'm done for the day and I want to pry into your personal life as invasively as possible." She returned with an unsettling flash of teeth. It made Loki shudder inwardly.  
"Please, I have something of some import to discuss with Tony, I'm afraid coffee will have to wait. And I don't even want to know what sort of work you've been doing that means you can take the rest of the day off when it's only eleven in the morning." He griped, using his best 'put upon' voice and pleading eyes for good measure.

The Widow was having none of it.

"Nope. Coffee now, domestics later. You look like you could do with a muffin too. My treat." She beamed as she dragged him out of the lift as it touched down. He didn't have enough energy or correctly functioning limbs to protest and instead resigned himself to being escorted out of the building. Thankfully the assassin appeared to take into consideration his current discomfort and entirely inappropriate attire which consisted of falling apart at the seams sneakers, some comfy sweats and a Black Sabbath shirt that definitely wasn't his and forced him into a relatively deserted coffee shop.  
He let himself fall into a large leather armchair and rubbed the bridge of his nose, mentally screaming at his monumental ineptitude at carrying out the simplest of tasks until Natasha returned. She placed his drink and muffin on the table in front of him and seated herself opposite, crossing her legs and folding her arms, all the while looking like the most intimidating therapist he had ever seen.  
"So what's going on with you and Tony?" She asked bluntly.

He managed to restrain a flicker of annoyance as it tried to flit across his features but once again his tongue ran away from him without waiting for his brain to catch up.  
Loki started talking, a lot. But somehow he managed to avoid the conversation he'd had the night before, the one thing that was really bothering him. She hated only half listening in on what her friend was saying but she realised he hadn't quite managed to build up to what was actually wrong with him. So she 'listened' quietly and patiently, nodding in all the appropriate places and surreptitiously managed to send a text without the slightly agitated man realising.

Her talents were being completely wasted and she made sure Tony knew about it. In all honesty though Natasha was just glad to be of some help. She hadn't asked for the details but whatever the scientist was up to it was important. He'd been neglecting his suit repairs for days thanks to this little side project and although he hadn't told her outright it was obvious to all that Loki was at the heart of all his research.  
That Loki seemed completely unaware of this was odd but it wasn't her job to pry, she was happy to be his shoulder to cry on for the time being. She'd hear all about it sooner or later anyway.  
And probably be on clean up for when it all went horribly wrong.

Her phone chimed suddenly and she quickly pulled it from her pocket, flipping it open the mistress of deception made a show of reading the text, pulling a face as she did. Loki cocked his head and paused his rant momentarily.  
"Just Clint being an idiot again. Why does he think I care if he thinks his bow makes his ass look fat?" She sighed snapping the phone shut and smiling as Loki failed to stifle a snicker. Perhaps it was just that those painkillers really did mess with the trickster or maybe she was actually a better liar than even she thought, but the deity didn't seem to notice her blatant lie.

_'Sent from Tony Stark  
to Natasha Romanoff_

_Just talk to him. I think he needs_  
_to speak to a friendly face that_  
_isn't as gorgeous as mine. You_  
_fit that bill!_  
_But seriously, thanks._  
_He can't know about this, not_  
_yet. I don't want to get his hopes_  
_up. Just get him to open up a bit._  
_For reasons unknown to even me_  
_he actually likes talking to you_  
_and chances are he's taken some_  
_more of Bruce's wonder drugs so_  
_he'll tell you anything._  
_Just no mention of horses -_  
_keep it PG-13 bitch face.'_

It was sweet really, she conceded. His dedication truly was something else.  
She snapped her attention back to her friend's diatribe however as the sudden appearance of the word 'birthing' caught her attention.

Tony was also a complete idiot if he honestly expected her not to record elements of this conversation for future blackmail purposes.  
Especially after the bitch face comment.

…

And thus I have returned! :))


	39. Book Senses Tingling

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: Sorry for the delay! This past week I have moved houses and started uni again! Much change! Updates might not be as frequent as they have been from here on out but I'm still going to try for one-two a week updates a week, uni work comes first unfortunately but I'll let you know if there's going to be a particularly long delay (not that there should be!)

…

"I have told him so many horrible truths." Loki reluctantly admitted.

His eyes snapped to Natasha's and they both knew then that this was it. This was what he had been getting at, his mouth wittering on with trivial matters and upsets, slowly building itself up to the real heart of the matter.  
And suddenly she wasn't so sure she wanted to hear any of it.  
But she would, for her friend.

She would listen to it all, if all he needed was to share it.

"I have told him I love him. I have told him that I trust him unwaveringly and that I will stand by his side against immeasurable odds. I would follow him everywhere and I would adore every second of it. I have told him he is the only one for me and I have told him lie after lie and he is the only one who sees most of them for what they really are: the truth. But I think my greatest truth, the one that pains us both the most, is that I would settle with him. I would grow ancient with him, watch the universe destroy itself with him and in the end we would both not die together. He knew all this weeks ago however. He knew and he understood that at the moment this is an impossible dream, one we are both intent on fixing. But still… No matter how hard you try to make it real, an impossible dream is still just that; impossible.

"And then I went and ruined it all. I told him I would gladly bear his children, that I wanted a family with him. I told him all of this knowing he could not possibly accept it. All he wants is the chance to watch his children grow, a chance to love them and who am I to deny him that? But now he barely talks to me. He's working on something, I don't know what. He barely eats or sleeps any more and when we talk it's all reassurances and lies. We both know how all this will end but he won't accept it. He's killing himself and it's entirely my fault. What do I do Natasha?"

The Widow struggled to compose herself. Suddenly everything seemed to be hitting far too close to home. This wasn't what she signed up for when she agreed to play therapist. But then she just looked at Loki, really looked at him, and her heart thawed a little more. His shoulders were hunched as if he were trying desperately to retreat into himself, there was none of the diva, none of the royalty, just a confused, sad, man who didn't know how everything had all gone so wrong.  
The parallels between them were startling, but Natasha had never had anyone to confide in.

Maybe now was the time to change that.

"Hey Loki, I'm probably the worst person to talk to you about this particular issue. Or maybe I'm the best, I'm not sure. I understand your situation more than I'm comfortable with…" She said, not quite meeting his eyes. He sat up a little straighter in his chair; his drink paused on the way to his lips.  
"What are you talking about Widow?" He asked with a little more venom than intended. The assassin didn't flinch and crossed her hands over her lap before finally raising her eyes to meet his.  
"Clint and I have had the same discussion. Several times. He wants kids… I don't. Except it's not that simple. He has this whole cheery outlook on life. Like as soon as we have children the world will just back off and leave us to it. But I've seen the worst that the world has to offer, at one point I was it. Our children would be walking targets. How could I ever let them leave the house knowing what I do about the world, about the enemies we've made in it? And then there's… No. That's it. So you see, we're in the same boat, almost." She stated flatly, her voice as level and cool as ever. And yet despite her mask Loki saw straight through her. He saw her need, her want, her guilt and recognised it instantly because it was as painfully obvious as his own.

He took a sip of his drink and set the cup on the table. Neither spoke for a long time. Patrons came and went and the day crawled by without them.  
"What did you mean by 'and then there's…' Tasha? I know there's more to it than that. What was it you told me during our ill-fated girls night in? You mentioned a 'certain someone', do you want to tell me now who it is?" Loki asked, sidestepping the actual matter at hand with as much tact as he could muster. Natasha silently acknowledged this and felt a slight pang of… anger? Anger at a friend who would blatantly ignore her admission after she had, in some respects, just poured her heart out.  
"I don't suppose it matters now really does it?" She half spat. Loki flinched slightly at that. "But what do you care, right? You've got enough of your own crap to deal with, you don't need mine too."  
Loki frowned and shook his head.  
"You know that isn't true Natasha. I apologise for sounding so dismissive over your predicament, I- It's a little difficult to hear right now. And I didn't mean _that_ how it sounded either. It's just that I know how this situation has made me feel and I wouldn't wish it on anyone and you must be feeling something similar and I do not like to think of my friends being in pain. Especially when I can do naught to help." He explained, wringing his hands together pleadingly. The master spy seemed to relent slightly and eased back into her seat, her gaze upon the crippled deity softening around the edges.  
"Thanks. I mean, yeah it's not a good situation to be in but we'll work it out. Won't we?" Her question held only the scarcest amounts of doubt, but it was all Loki needed.  
"We'll get through this. We're good at that. We are resilient and we have people that love us. I do not see how we could fail." He smiled. The red head returned the expression and nodded, a genuine smile from Natasha Romanoff. Loki wondered when the humans would ever stop surprising him.  
He hoped they never would.  
"Well I guess there's no harm in telling you about mine and Clint's other half then is there? It's Bruce. Clint and I are a thing and recently Bruce has joined that 'thing'. It's been great, really, it has. Clint can witter on at Bruce all he wants and Bruce never seems to get annoyed. I have someone else to talk to when Clint's acting like a child and Bruce is actually really good at calming Clint down without leaving him in a massive sulk. But now I don't know where we all stand. Clint wants to marry me, Loki, he really does. He's asked me so many times and I don't have the heart to keep refusing for much longer. I _want_to marry him but we can't. That's not what international super spies do. Too many liabilities. And now there's Bruce, though I don't think he wants to marry either of us, which is good I guess. It's all kinds of messed up."

"Gods woman. Have you never heard of the word 'normality'?" Loki laughed.  
"Coming from the man offering to give birth to another mans child? Back off skinny, you can't win this one." She retorted with a wicked smirk. He offered her a smile and flicked a piece of his muffin at her. She grinned and flicked it right back at him.

They spent the next twenty minutes completely embroiled in a food fight of epic proportions as all well respected super heroes/ex-villains in coffee shops are wont to do. They managed to wreak a fair bit of havoc too before management kindly told them to get out.  
Crutch in hand and covered in crumbs, Loki flounced as best he could on a dodgy leg out of the shop and onto the street. Natasha followed closely behind him looking equally as ridiculous. After brushing herself down she looped arms with the trickster and veered him back in the direction of the tower.

"Loki, let's never have a heart to heart again. Deal?"  
"Bitch you don't need to tell me twice."

Within the tower all was quiet save for the one place that really ought to have been.

Generally libraries are safe havens, places of solitude, learning and peace. With one Tony Stark occupying this particular library however it had turned into anything but. Curses turned the air blue, the sound of slamming books and chairs being kicked rang throughout the vastness of the room.  
He hadn't found a single damn thing.  
And he had been so sure he'd been onto something, but here he was, twenty four hours later and with absolutely nothing to show for all his hard work. The frustration was driving him mad. Stacks of books surrounded him, looming over him and making him feel a damn sight more claustrophobic than he ever had in his entire life. And that was coming from the man who spent most of his days stuck inside a metal onesie.

In a fit of temper Tony upended a nearby table, sending all his notes, tablets, books and research paraphernalia clattering to the ground. Whirling around, vision blurred with a sudden rush of adrenaline, he walked face first into one of the many mountains of books. Within seconds the entire thing had toppled, burying him beneath centuries old thick, musty, tomes. He tried to scream out of sheer anger but the sudden onslaught of ancient dust clogged his lungs sending him hacking and wheezing. After managing to dig himself out of the papery grave, he groped blindly for a moment before leaning against the treacherous pile of books to steady himself as he choked. Ignoring the terrifying thought that Loki probably had an inbuilt sense as to when a book was being harmed, the engineer found himself seconds away from kicking the non-living hell out of the glorified pamphlets when something amidst the chaos caught his eye.

No.  
Surely not.  
He double and then triple checked.  
Things like this did not happen to people like him.

Reaching out tentatively he ran his palm across the cover, wiping away some of the debris until he could properly make out the lettering on the front of the faded, cracked, cover. Inhaling sharply, he started coughing all over again but quickly managed to pull himself together long enough to send Bruce a shaky text.  
Sitting down, using the various ledgers, journals and anthologies as a makeshift recliner, he gave himself a quick minute before picking up that particular book again. Steeling himself against the possibility of not entirely misguided hope he cracked open the leather bound journal and began reading. The other scientist made it down to the library in record time and as soon as he entered Tony's line of sight he was bombarded with a multitude of 'hypothetical' questions.

Bruce did his best to answer them and whatever it was he was validating was apparently a very good thing judging by the ever so slightly manic grin spreading across his cohorts face.

As soon as the flood of questions ran dry Tony sat up and barked a laugh before slamming the book shut again.

"Brucey boy, we are back in business!"  
"Eh?" The mousey man uttered blankly.  
"Give me ten, no, fifteen minutes and meet me in the workshop. Oh, and get hold of Clint and ask him to liberate Loki of his staff. Without him knowing preferably. And if you see Natasha and she isn't with Loki, send her to him. She'll come up with a reason for it I'm sure. Well? What are you standing around for? Go! Mush!" The man of iron shouted, leaping to his feet and bouncing on the balls of his feet. Bruce shook his head and made a hasty retreat, dialling the archer as he went.

Tony waited until the other brainiac had disappeared from view before fisting the air and letting out a well deserved victory cheer.

"… J.A.R.V.'?"  
"Yes, sir?"  
"Be a doll and delete that last minute of footage from the security cam would ya?"  
"Done and done sir. Is there anything else you would like me to do?"  
"No. Wait! Yes. Dial- no, text Loki for me. Just… tell him I love him but I'll be working late tonight."  
"Are you sure you would rather not call him?" The AI replied primly.  
If Tony were any more paranoid about his technology achieving an actual consciousness he'd have been sorely tempted to shut his mechanical butler off, but given that he was a mature, responsible, adult, he instead opted for giving him the finger before sauntering off.  
"Uncalled for sir." J.A.R.V.I.S. said before falling silent once more.

Tony was not scared of his own creations.  
He wasn't.  
But just in case, he was definitely not sleeping tonight. And maybe there was a vague possibility that he'd end up apologising to the AI later on, not because he was afraid, just because he was a nice guy like that.

It sometimes worried him that he could be 'out snarked' by his own technology. He wasn't going to let it get him down though, at least no machine could ever out scathe Loki. He found some solace in that.  
But even if it could, there wasn't a cat in hells chance it could out fabulous him.

…

Arghhh, things are picking up again, I haven't really been feeling it recently but now that I know where I'm headed with this I think I'll get back on track! Thanks for bearing with me, these past few weeks have been a bit hectic! :)))


	40. Magic 101

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: Not happy with that last chapter, so here's another one by way of an apology. Shit's happening now!

…

'_Sent from Tony Stark  
To Loki Laufeyson_

_I love you._  
_Working late tonight._  
_Probably won't see you_  
_until tomorrow. BTW_  
_have I mentioned how_  
_stunning you look? I_  
_mean, dayum gurl. You_  
_is hella fine!'_

Tony wasn't particularly surprised when after several hours he'd still received no reply from his husband. He was in the doghouse for sure. Possibly on the way to the glue factory if Natasha had any say on the matter, which she probably did. Groaning, he swiped his arms along the workbench, clearing a path for his newest toy.

Clint and Bruce eyed him warily from the side-lines.

No way in hell were they getting involved when Tony was doing science. Normally the quieter of the two wouldn't mind, but this was _Stark science_. You just don't fuck with Stark science. He'd made that mistake a long time ago and downtown still had the scars to prove it.  
"So er, I can go now right?" The archer asked as he edged slowly out of the room. He wasn't running away. It was a tactical retreat.  
"Do not leave me alone with him right now! This is not going to end well." Bruce hissed quietly enough to go unnoticed by the engineer. Clint shook his head violently.  
"No way dude, I am backing the fuck out of this and never looking back. I'm already on thin ice. If Loki finds out I stole his staff, magic or not, he's gonna end me! You've heard him talk about dicking around with peoples entrails man, he'll be all over that shit!"  
"You are such a coward! Stay here and help me dammit! If you don't I'll… I'll tell Nat!"  
"What are you like, five? That shit don't fly with me science man!"  
"Oh for Gods sake. Natasha taught me how to do that thing with my tongue. _I'll show you later_ IF you stick around." The scientist snapped. Clint stopped dead in his tracks and tilted his head slightly.  
"You mean… the tongue thing? Is that the one were you pu-"  
"Yeah, sure, that one. Look, I'll do _all_the tongue things if you just stick around and help me make sure Tony doesn't do something stupid even by his standards. Deal?" The assassin hesitated, glancing from the door to his friend before finally raising his hands in defeat and sidling back over to Bruce. The brunette gave him a small smile and nudged him gently with his shoulder. Clint shot him a lopsided smirk which quickly turned into a snarl as a thin, red, beam tore through the air between the two unwitting accomplices leaving a smouldering trail of air in its wake.

"Heads up guys! Genius at work!" Tony called happily choosing to ignore Clint's outraged glare in favour of the now glowing staff. He stared at it critically for a moment, scratching absently at his goatee before beckoning his friends to come closer. The two men shared a look and reluctantly closed in.  
"Here. Take this. Hold it up. Keep it still." The inventor demanded as he forced a book into Bruce's hands open at a page that, to everyone that wasn't Tony Stark, had nothing but a bunch of faded squiggles scrawled across it.  
"What even is that?" Clint asked jabbing a finger at the page.  
"Nothing you need to worry about beaky. Now if you could just go over to that console over there and let me known when things start flashing red. As soon as that happens press that big button on the screen. The one that says 'END'. Not too complicated for you is it?" Tony beamed as he lowered his goggles and grabbed the laser with both hands. He only had one chance at this. If he messed up now, well, magic wasn't exactly his forte and he wasn't foolish enough to pretend he had any real idea on how to fix everything if something were to go horribly wrong.

He did not want to have to call Doom in on this one.  
Worse than that, he _really_ didn't want to have to explain to Loki why he'd just ripped the earth a new inter-dimensional vacuum that'd take you on a one way trip straight into the sun.  
If the vacuum didn't kill him he knew damn well his husband would.

"So tell me again what it is you're doing?!" Bruce yelled over the screaming of the laser as it gouged impossibly intricate patterns across the staff. Tony didn't reply straight away, his main focus being on keeping the beam as steady as possible. He didn't dare stop in the middle of whatever the hell it was he was doing to explain himself. He'd never considered himself an artist, he couldn't draw worth a damn aside from diagrams, technical drawings and initial design sketches. But what he was doing right now, this, this was art.  
Hell, he'd put money down on even Steve being impressed.  
"J.A.R.V.' fill 'em in on the plan so far. Little busy trying to keep the universe in one piece over here." Tony shouted once he hit a relatively simple section.  
"Certainly sir. The markings across those two particular pages are what we believe to be part of a much more powerful 'spell'." Clint noted the inflection the machine put into the last word and snorted. "Translated from ancient Norse this particular passage makes mention of a transferal of power. Mr Stark's guess is that if he inscribes the words onto a 'conduit' he can then use it to siphon the energy directly back into Loki.

"So this is your master plan? Fuck with magic and see what happens?" The archer screeched as various coloured bars began erupting across the screen. They were still on orange for the moment. Orange was good. It meant he had a few more minutes yet before that idiot tin man killed them all.  
"Pretty much!" Tony agreed as he paused for a second to wipe away the sweat trickling down over his goggles. "How are we looking Clint?"  
"Still oran- No-no-no-no-no it's red. Shit it's red!"  
"Then press the damn button!" Tony screamed as he watched the assassin flail madly at the screen.  
"It's not working Tony! Holy shit I'm going to die! You son of a motherfu-" The Hawk halted his diatribe as the screens died one by one until only a single display remained active. A series of numbers flashed across the screen. It took him 3 seconds to see where this was going.  
"Shit it's a countdown! What the hell is going on Iron Douche?!"  
"YOU HAD ONE JOB CLINT!" Tony roared as the burning, livid, marks the engineer had just etched deep into the gleaming surface of the weapon began to emit a low humming sound which steadily rose in pitch until the three men were forced to clap their hands over their ears.  
Without waiting to be prompted they scrambled in a mad dash to evacuate as the noise reached deafening proportions that shook the entire room. Tools and bits of scrap and weaponry clattered to the ground all around them, tables began to quake and a few worrying cracks began to bleed through the walls. The avengers managed to make it out of the danger zone just in time as a chunk of ceiling crashed to the ground, completely eviscerating one of Tony's cars on its way. He cried out and clawed at his hair as more and more of the vehicles were torn to pieces by falling debris. J.A.R.V.I.S. sent the workshop into lockdown, metal shutters cutting off their view of the devastation for a second before he patched the live feed through to a nearby monitor. They watched with mounting horror as the wild magic tore through the air causing the room to slowly fold in on itself.  
And then, almost as quickly as it had begun, the thrum died down.

Once the noise had settled into nothing more than a gentle roar quiet enough to talk over Tony spoke up.

"Loki once told me words had power, a magic that was all their own. He said that words are alive, that language is a form of science bordering on math and we just haven't realised its potential yet. I don't know how to win this thing with science. I wouldn't even know where to begin. So I'm going to try my hand at magic and if it kills us all then I'm really sorry about that." He said, his voice unusually tight. Bruce squeezed his shoulder in what he hoped was a reassuring manner.  
"So what's the plan now chief?" Clint asked as the shutters slowly began to retreat again, his eyes surveying the carnage that was the workshop.  
"I'm going to get Loki's magic back. And that's not going to make me many friends but I'm honestly past caring at this point. Those words I've engraved onto his staff are part of a spell. It has something to do with the transferal of 'life force' which I'm going to assume is a fancier way of saying magic. I'm going to ask Loki if he can put me in touch with his son, the one with eight legs, I'm sure you remember him - we need to have words. Because from what I've gathered he's the only one who can get me to where I need to go without killing me in the process. And then I might die. I'm not going to lie to you, me dying is a very definite possibility. And once I've done what I need to do in that place that I need to be I'm going to come back and everything is going to be fine. I swear am going to make everything alright."

Clint nodded grimly and crossed his arms in front of him.  
"If there's anything you need from any of us just let us know alright? I know you think Loki is just your problem but he's not. We all kind of care about what happens to him."  
"You're not on your own in this." Bruce clarified shooting Clint an appreciative glance as he did. The archer might be one of the most tactless people to ever grace the planet but he really came through when it counted.  
Tony laughed and tugged at his hair awkwardly. Some of the tension in his shoulders eased off and he seemed to relax a little more.  
"Thanks guys. I'm clutching at straws here I know but I don't know what else I can do. I don't want to drag any of you into this, it's too dangerous and there's no real proof to even suggest that this _might_ work. And why would you two care if Loki got his powers back anyway, he only uses them to piss you off?"  
Clint and Bruce both snorted at that.  
"Dude. Bro. Come on. He's like Natasha's _best friend_. You think we even have a say in this?" Clint laughed shaking his head. "But nah, we had our reservations at first but he's not a bad guy. He's actually pretty cool. None of us like seeing him so… not diva-like. It's kinda creepy." Bruce settled for nodding in agreement.

Tony grinned and rested a hand on his hip using the other to remove his goggles.  
"Well if it's all the same to you I'm gonna leave you to it while I get back to work. We can't all have painfully normal issues to sort through can we?" He said as he waved them off.

Clint managed to wait until they were all the way around the corner before turning on his 'friend'.  
"So! The tongue thing? Let's go do that right now. Okay?" He asked eagerly, grabbing the scientist's hands and dragging him off to one of his 'nests'.  
"Maybe we should go and see about-" Bruce began before his logical train of thought was derailed as a look of complete and utter disappointment briefly flashed across the archers face. "Yeah, ok. The tongue thing." He conceded. "Hey just think, afterwards you and Natasha can compare notes." He chuckled as Clint pulled him into one of the many hideouts he'd installed around the tower.

"J.A.R.V.I.S. do everyone a favour and sound proof whatever room they crawl into would you? But don't delete the security footage. When they're finished just grade it out of ten on how brilliant blackmail material it'll make and let me know. Ten being 'enough shame to kill the Hulk'." Tony smirked after a few minutes. How these people thought they could keep anything secret in this place was beyond him. The only person that managed it for the most part was Natasha and that was only because he was too terrified to even attempt to threaten that woman.  
His self preservation skills left a lot to be desired but even he knew better than to try and put the screws on a master assassin with hormones and shit.  
Glancing at the time he was pleasantly surprised to find it was still only mid afternoon. The air around the staff still vibrated alarmingly but the ceiling appeared to have stopped crumbling for the time being.  
"Run all the scans, take whatever readings you need to and message the results to me when you're done. Right now I have to see a man about a horse." He said to the AI as he skipped out of the room, the door hissing shut behind him. "And then sleep with him." He added almost as an afterthought. "A lot."

…

Much happier with this chapter, I feel like I'm getting back into the groove a bit :)))


	41. All or Nothing

Trick of the Light

Rated T

A/N: HOLY SHIT GUYS I AM SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY! I'm in my last year of Uni and I'm so close to getting my degree and I have so much work to do! I am so sorry for the delay and I can't promise regular updates but I am going to try so hard to get something uploaded much sooner than the last one!  
Thank you so much to everyone who still comes back to check on this!  
And save your internet cookies, especially the rare one, for someone far more worthy than I!

I have no intentions of leaving this unfinished, and while the end is in sight it is still nowhere near completed! And so, I leave you with this meagre offering in the hopes that you won't hate me forever!

…

"No."  
"Oh come on! Pretty please with sugar and sprinkles and world domination on top?"  
"For the last time Stark, no means no!"  
"Loki you're killing me here! Just do this one little thing and I promise I won't ask you for anything else for like, a week."  
That last remark earned him a dangerously arched eyebrow. He recoiled a little as the other man licked his lips thoughtfully. Setting his book down on the arm rest and leaning back into the couch Loki patted the seat beside him and gestured for his husband to sit. Tony hated it when he couldn't get a read on the deity. It unnerved him to no end and he knew Loki was well aware of that.

"As you well know I have little magic left at my disposal, a ludicrously meagre amount of magic. It is the only thing I have left to hold on to and if it disappears, even only temporarily, I fear it might push me over the edge. Do you understand why I cannot grant you this request at this time?" The prince stated slowly. His tone was conversational but something dangerous lingered behind the words. Tony was treading on thin ice.  
"I know Loki I get it, but I need you to do this for me. It's important. You know I wouldn't keep asking you if it weren't." He was answered with a sharp look that gradually softened. The engineer threw an arm around his partner's shoulders and pulled him close to press a kiss to his forehead.  
"I can't do it Tony. This is part of your 'master plan' to get my magic back isn't it? Well I'm not saying I don't have faith in you but whatever it is you're plotting will probably be horrendously ill planned and you'll throw yourself head first into it. I don't want you getting hurt on my account. When my leg is mended we'll figure this out together. Alright?" He asked wearily and forced a small smile.

Tony bit the inside of his cheeks and nodded.  
"Sure thing Loks."  
"You're going to ignore everything I've just said and go and do something monumentally stupid anyway aren't you?"

"Yes. Yes I am. And you can't catch me." Tony said as he leapt to his feet and darted away from the incapacitated man. Loki growled a threat but was deftly ignored as the scientist glided past him with the smuggest of grins plastered across his face. It made the tricksters blood boil but the tiniest part of him rejoiced. Someone was trying to save him!

But that meant little to nothing if Tony died along the way.

Tony Stark however had no intention of dying. In fact he'd made it his life mission thus far to actively avoid death. Thinking back on this however he realised that, all things considered, he'd actually done a pretty bad job of staying out of trouble. As his fingers curled around the thrumming metal staff he winced as the stirrings of magic pooled within his fingertips.  
"J.A.R.V.I.S. suit. " He commanded. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as the metal plates were fitted alongside his body. There were three ways his next moves could go.

One:

Nothing was going to happen. He'd make an idiot of himself, hide out in his lab for a couple of days, drink himself into oblivion and then lie profusely to Loki telling him that it was ok because he had a back up plan.

Two:

Everything would work flawlessly.

Three:

He was going to die.

After mentally checking off each of these points in his mind he made an admirable attempt at not being a jerk before folding spectacularly and sending Thor a text which read '_It's ok, Loki isn't dead and we're on HQ roof now. Don't tell Thor._'  
It was a cruel thing to do and honestly, he could have just said 'important, meet me on roof'. But then, he _was_ feeling a little malicious – a trait he was going to put down as being inherited from spending far too much time in the company of Malicious Incarnate. Having said that, he reckoned it might make ol' thunder and lightning move a little quicker because he doubted all Thor would garner from that text would be the words: Loki. Dead. HQ roof.  
Before he could even begin to consider letting the guilt settle he heard the tell tale rattling of foundations that generally alluded to a certain Gods arrival.  
Tony braced himself before moving to greet his undoubtedly terrified friend. Although maybe throwing the 'friend' word around was a bit low of him given what he planned to do.  
Operation: Crippling Devastating Emotional Blackmail was now underway, though he hoped he wouldn't have to use it.

Sort of, half-hoped, anyway.

It had taken Thor the whole of a minute after landing to realise something was greatly amiss. The penny didn't drop until about twenty seconds later when he realised that neither Loki nor the Man of Iron was anywhere to be seen on the rooftop. Mjolnir unconsciously found its way into his grip and seemed to noiselessly sing for blood.  
And then Tony reared his smug little face and, when questioned later, Thor really couldn't explain how Mjolnir had slipped from his grasp and sped at such an alarming rate towards his teammate.  
"What is going on Stark." The God growled, his sentence punctuated by the creaking of skin on leather as his hammer found its way back to his hand. Tony smiled a lopsided smile and raised his hands defensively.  
"Hey big guy, sorry about the ruse, I just needed you here. Like right this second. And don't worry! Loki is… well his condition is unchanged let's put it that way. But that's why I've called you here because I think we change that ol' buddy o'l pal of mine! Pleas stop me at any point if I'm rambling it's just that I think I'm really ont-"  
"STOP. For the love of the AllFather Tony what are you talking about?"  
"Oh. Right. Yeah, sure thing, erm- well I need to call in a favour. It's to get Loki's magic back. I think I can do it, I have nearly all the components, but I need a hand getting the last one. Think you can help me out?"  
Thor frowned a moment, crossing his arms across his chest, head cocked slightly to one side.  
"If it is within my power to give it Anthony then I will do so for the sake of my brother. What is it you would have me acquire?"  
"Sleipnir." The engineer answered without skipping a beat.  
"Sleipnir? The Allfathers steed?"  
"Sleipnir. Loki's _son_."  
"I am sorry friend but he is not for me to give." The blonde said shaking his head.  
"He shouldn't be anyone's _to_ give but that's an argument for another day. Come on Thor there has to be something you can do?" He pleaded stepping forwards waving his arms around desperately. "You're a God Thor! You'll be king of an entire planet of weird Norse aliens one day, surely you could just pull some strings and-"  
"No, Anthony. I am truly sorry. I can speak to Odin on your behalf if you wish? Perhaps mother would be able to convince him to allow Sleipnir to aid you on your endeavour." The giant offered with a hopeful grin. Tony didn't have the heart to shoot him down. So much for emotional blackmail.  
"Yeah. Sure Thor, can't hurt to try right? You'd probably be best clearing it with Fury first though seeing as you'll probably be gone awhile." He replied with a strained grin. "Anyway, I should be getting back. Our favourite resident princess will be tearing his hair out from boredom otherwise. Catch you later." He said with a wave of his hand as Thor beamed, presumably at the thought of being able to help, as he tore off through the skies.

Tony cursed and kicked at the ground, denting the roof slightly in the process. He absentmindedly began lowering and raising his mask as he walked, eventually opting to keep it off. Times like this it sometimes made things a little too claustrophobic. He needed room to think.  
Chances were the golden brigade way up high would probably keep him hanging around as long as possible before allowing him passage to bargain. And even then he doubted they'd just let him be on his way without a fight, or at least some hard core debating. And to even get to that stage Thor would first have to get Fury to give him clearance to return to his homeworld to sort out the pre-Sleipnir dealings. But then that was exactly why Tony had 'forgotten' to tell Thor to omit the part about all this being for Loki's benefit.

If they were going to do this thing he was going to have everyone jumping through hoops trying to stop him. Doing things the easy way was just boring. Besides, it gave him longer to think because he really didn't want to have to go down the red tape route.

He knew he could do this. He had the staff, he had most of the plan, he knew where he needed to go, he was just short one horse. One very magical horse. But to get to the horse he needed to cross the universe and how the hell was he supposed to do that he had no-  
Oh.  
Surely it wouldn't be that easy.  
They wouldn't.  
Would they?  
If Odin could truly see all things, then it was highly likely that he already knew about Tony's half baked idea. He'd know what the scientist wanted and he'd know he'd do anything to get it. But even if he couldn't actively make a move towards helping with his wayward son's predicament perhaps he'd be willing to turn a blind eye, for lack of a better phrase.

Closing his eyes, Tony thought back on their first trip to Asgard. He snapped his fingers and flashed a smirk as the word he'd been scrying for sprung to the forefront of his mind. He moved to the centre of the roof and, after a moments hesitation, called up his AI.

"Jarv'?"  
"Yes, sir?"  
"If this works send a message to Loki would you? Just tell him that I am going to do it. I'm going to get his magic back and I swear to the Gods I'm going to fix this. And if I survive, if he survives, I'm going to marry that man for real. And I promise we won't wake up the morning after next to his son. Actually scrap that last part, I'm not making promises that I can't keep. Tell him I love him, in the manliest way possible because all of this is sounding a little bit… mushy. Can you do that for me?" He asked, turning his gaze to the city stretched before him.  
"Not a problem sir. I'll make sure he knows." J.A.R.V.I.S. responded dutifully.

Several floors down Loki bunched the material of his shirt up in his fists and aimed a weak snarl at the live feed. He knew he should have tried to do more to stop his idiot other half. He wasn't worried about Tony's plan working, he was more concerned about the effect it would have on the engineer when it didn't. His husband was brilliant and he didn't doubt his lover's capabilities for even a second, but that didn't stop him questioning everyone else's. He was broken enough that he didn't know if he could handle seeing Tony encounter another failure.

Tony shielded his eyes from the glare of the sun as he raised his glare heavenward. He cleared his throat, perhaps a little too dramatically given that he had no idea anyone but his butler was watching and, ever the showman, he cupped his hands round his mouth and threw his head back.  
"HEIMDALL!"

The word echoed in a manner Tony might have thought strange had he not been focused so intently on the currently unchanging sky.  
It had been a long shot.  
He had never believed in Gods until he'd met them, and even now he was still fairly cynical, so he'd never really expected them to believe much in him. His hands lingered around his mouth a moment before taking a deep breath. Somewhere within the complex Loki found himself holding his.

The word was still readied on his tongue when the sky split in two. Something hit him, it tore the breath from his lungs and _pulled_.  
And then he was gone.  
Loki swore loudly and profusely. Then he laughed, it racked his body painfully but it was a pain he embraced. This was madness. None of this should be working. But it was, and everything was uncertain and nothing was definite. It was chaos.  
He _loved_it.

He had Natasha on speed dial within seconds.  
She said she'd be round in a few minutes.  
She was coming armed with ice-cream and Pepper.  
Not the condiment she had assured him.

He knew he should be worrying and fretting over his potentially doomed lover, that he should be in tears over the futility of the entire thing, but he couldn't bring himself to wipe his hopeful smirk from his face.

Besides; ice-cream.

…

GUYS, GUYS LOOK IT'S A THING. IT'S A LEGIT CHAPTER. :)))


End file.
